Peter Moskos

I'll be on Katie Couric's substack live at 5:30PM eastern (1 hour from now)
substack.com/@katiecouric

Former cop talks about what went wrong leading up to fatal Minneapolis shooting NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Peter Moskos, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former cop, about what went wrong when a federal agent killed a nurse in Minneapolis.

Me on NPR
www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...

As a reporter, I carried the home phone number of Maryland's chief district judge in my wallet. The Hon. Dennis Sweeney would, on an ask, explain to recalcitrant desk sergeants and shift lieutenants that he would hold them in contempt if they denied the public the face sheet of any shooting report.

I don't support the mission of this adminstration

Did I block you on twitter?

It doesn't

They really think they're going to covert people to their beliefs by shouting loudly in their faces. It's absurd. And they're hurting a good cause. This shit does real damage to the one party in America that is not Trump's.

I see other people saying the story isn't a big deal (Nichols points out it was the 5pm CNN lead story) and besides, in classic gaslighting, nobody is even supporting disrupting religious services.

Here's a voice of reason (pointed out to me on twitter, mind you) bsky.app/profile/radi...

I searched for "church protest," and the results are pretty scary.

Is there anybody on bluesky saying it's actually bad (both morally and politically) to go into churches -- even ones with people you really really disagree with -- and interrupt and protest? I haven't looked too hard, granted, but I can't find anybody saying, uh, actually, no, _don't_ do this.

Yes. Per 100k, for the respective (white and black) populations

Charts I made of the homicide rate for whites and blacks, going back to 1968. (2025 is an estimate)

I have a new blog post on murders being down in most cities. It's happening nearly everywhere. It's still not a "trend."
qualitypolicing.com/murders-down...

I've confirmed that San Francisco, Bridgeport, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia hit the lowest levels since before 1970 this year. New Orleans tied 2019 for the lowest since 1970. Still waiting on data from the other cities but likely to check out.

How New York City Got Safe Back from the Brink is a historical reconstruction of the New York crime decline, told from inside the institutions responsible for safety.

"Peter Moskos’s Back from the Brink is both oral history and urban epic."

2026 starts strong! "Urban epic" sure has a nice ring to it.

From Michael Fortner's review of "Back from the Brink," just out today in the Washington Monthly. Positive _and_ insightful!

washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/01/h...

Perhaps. My flock has grown from 10 to 20 to 30.
(But the real problem is someone just dumps a bunch of food at the 30th avenue subway stop. And those pigeons are not "my flock")

Pigeon Pic of the Day

Back from the Brink: Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop

Why yes, for those who prefer to listen, my book "Back from the Brink" *is* available on audio. And yes, it does make a great Christmas present for yourself and your loved ones. And all for the low low price of $21.49! Or buy a ten pack for just $214.90 and give them out like candy. amzn.to/3MONwfW

Background Noises • Ambient Sounds • Relaxing Music | myNoise ® myNoise sets the standard for online background noise machines and interactive soundscapes.

If you like ambient sound or any sound, check this out: mynoise.net
It's a great website. (It's so great it's in the acknowledgement of my book "Back from the Brink." I honestly don't think I could have focused enough to write it without "Japanese Garden")

I have come to appreciate how generous CUNY is with the sabbatical. After every six years of teaching, it's a full year at 80% pay or a semester sabbatical at full pay.

Almost half of the non-European population of New Zealand is Maori. There's no way to pretend that this kind of racial thinking in that context is anything but exterminationist.

Book review: Back from the Brink More lessons from New York

Great book review of "Back from the Brink" (my book) by Richard Day in "A City that Works":
"A dark, funny and insightful oral history covering the inner workings of the department. It’s also deeply inspiring. It’s hard to recommend highly enough." citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...

I just did!

I wrote for @theguardian.com on Trump using the National Guard shooting to demonize Afghans refugees — and how the US has yet to reckon with the blowback caused by its foreign invasions and war on terror | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Cool. Look who is tops on the "Urban Optimist Holiday Gift Guide"? My book! Back from the Brink. It does indeed make a great stocking stuffer.
Buy it right now, before you forget!
amzn.to/48wt2j5

p.s. It's good for pessimists, too!

www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Christkindlmarket crowd limit creates uncertainty for vendors Under a new city restriction, the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza will now be limited to 1,553 visitors at a time — less than half the 3,494 people allowed under the COVID-19 capacity rules set in 20...

Chicago has the worst mayor in the US. He had a brief respite cosplaying as a resistance hero while Bovino was here; now he is back to his usual insanity. Why would you limit the number of people SPENDING MONEY ON SMALL BUSINESSES? @mayorofchicago.bsky.social

chicago.suntimes.com/business/202...

a woman with a surprised look on her face ALT: a woman with a surprised look on her face

Wow Peter, this was a gift! Whenever I would tell people that Tony was responsible for the 1st reduction they would look at me sideways and then he came back and did it again and I was like

I hope, for his sake and for Baltimore, people will follow in his footsteps and keep his methods in effect.

I know. He should be better known. But he never had ambitions beyond saving and helping Baltimore. And you know what? That's ambitious enough.
I just pains me that he literally worked himself to death. He died too early. For Baltimore.
He was fun in our peanut gallery. That's for sure.