State leaders are doubling down on their “tough on crime” stance. This week, Attorney General Matt Platkin touted double-digit drops in both gun violence and car thefts in New Jersey. They’re issues Gov. Phil Murphy recently said were an “epidemic” in the state, vowing to fight them through statewide intelligence sharing, new task forces and expanded laws. But critics argued those efforts were missing needed investments in the root cause of public safety problems — people.
The Murphy administration is presenting the latest data on reduced crime as indicative of policy successes even amid recent police-involved shootings. Attorney General Platkin, New Jersey’s top law enforcement officer, discusses the data.
