Lower the Crime Rate

Crime is born out of poverty and the miseries of capitalism. An index of oppression can’t be ignored by socialists.

Issue 43: Letters + Internet Speaks

Working through your issues in the comments section.

A Death Sentence for Disorderly Conduct

The story of Shali Tilson, a 22-year-old who died from dehydration at a jail in Georgia.

It’s Not Just the Drug War

The prison reforms on the table are unlikely to make even a dent in the forces that keep millions behind bars.

Afeni Shakur Took on the State and Won

Pregnant and facing decades in prison, the mother of Tupac Shakur fought for her life — and triumphed — in the trial of the Panther 21.

Did Liberals Give Us Mass Incarceration?

The United States managed its violence on the cheap — through police and prisons instead of social welfare.

What We Really Know About the CIA and Crack

The CIA claimed that any story linking it to the 1980s crack cocaine explosion was conspiratorial slander. But the evidence of its complicity is all there in the congressional record.

Everywhere Grime in America, Terrible Time in America

Forget the parodies — West Side Story was an epic musical about gang violence that was as hard-hitting as it was stunning.

Breaking up the Party

Britain is rightly known for its multicultural popular music — but these musical styles have frequently emerged in the face of legal attempts to suppress them.

Planned Paranoia

There’s a reason why urban housing developments and suburban subdivisions can seem threatening and unwelcoming to outsiders: they’re planned that way, in order to “design out crime.”

Did the LAPD Kill the Notorious B.I.G.?

Criminal police officers ran law enforcement in 1990s Los Angeles — and they may have a story to tell.

A Brazilian Bloodbath

When Lula and the Workers’ Party took power in Brazil, they had a plan to take on crime and the power of the police. Their failure helped undermine their entire program.

The Devil Goes to Preschool

In 1983, journalists helped conjure a nationwide sex panic.

Communists Against the Mafia

The battle against the Sicilian Mafia wasn’t waged by cops and judges — it was waged by communists and labor militants.

The Real Burglars Aren’t Wearing Masks

Across the country and across industries, employers steal billions from workers each year. Minimum wage violation — the act of paying workers below the legal limit — is just one form of wage theft, but it results in at least $15 billion in lost wages annually. In 2015, minimum wage violations cost workers more than all robberies, burglaries, larcenies, and motor vehicle thefts combined.

Smooth Criminals

From the Wolf of Wall Street in New York to Jho Low in Malaysia, globalization unleashed a world of well-connected and superrich con artists.

Barbies and Bullets

In Colombia and around the world, right-wing paramilitaries and traffickers have adopted a populist feint to win over the communities they terrorize.

New York’s Cop Coup

In 1993, New York had its first black mayor — and Rudy Giuliani stirred up a police riot at City Hall.

Jacobin Does Crime

We’re running short on funds. Jacobin troll Donald Hughes wants to help.