Is the Ivory Tower a Place to Learn About Crime?

The Other McCain we get the story of a carjacking, and more. Probably Not His First Crime

First we get a story about a particular carjacking. Then we get some statistics from Chicago about closure rates of Chicago PD. That is, what percentage of homicides result in an arrest? What percentage of non-fatal shootings result in arrest? Click thru if you want to be depressed; the vast majority of violent acts are never solved by the police.

But this is really about whether listening to college professors opine on the subject of crime and punishment makes sense.

So he says, although (a) the professor’s ability to make cause-and-effect analysis seems questionable, (b) he was still in college during the 1990s, and (c) he’s spent the past 18 years teaching at an Ivy League university and I’m not sure a faculty gig in Ithaca, New York, is the best place to formulate an accurate view about crime in America. The average cop in Chicago certainly knows more on the subject than does Professor Enns.

There is more. It's worth your time. Go take a look.