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Jerry Ratcliffe

@jerryratcliffe.net
1.2K followers 265 following 325 posts

College prof, ex-UK cop, host of the Reducing Crime podcast, scientific advisor to the IACP. In my spare time, I try not to crash planes. Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/citations?user=B… ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0730-6761

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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 08/08/2026
I fear sensible dems like @petebuttigieg.bsky.social will spend forever in the political wilderness because DSA and affiliated candidates will keep losing elections by moving the Overton window away from the mainstream with boutique nonsense, and continually hand the right wing easy wins.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 08/08/2026
Every sentence not just wrong but spectacularly wrong. When it comes to crime, two groups with more Dunning-Kruger confidence that knowledge? doctors and lawyers.
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Reducing Crime @reducingcrime.com · 30/07/2026
EPISODE ALERT: 🚨#97 with Mike Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing is now available. He chats with @jerryratcliffe.net about the history of, and challenges promoting, problem-oriented policing. Apple: apple.co/3U3GqHG Spotify: bit.ly/3ISVxOG SoundCloud: bit.ly/3Rl9tWz
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#97 (Mike Scott)
Podcast Episode · Reducing Crime · July 30 · 36m
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Matt Ashby @mattashby.com · 26/06/2026
Fantastic @reducingcrime.com podcast discussion between my colleague Shane Johnson and @jerryratcliffe.net on some of the many ways all types of crime are changing due to technology. Essential listening if you’re interested in crime of any sort.
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#96 (Shane Johnson)
Stream #96 (Shane Johnson) by Reducing Crime on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.
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Reducing Crime @reducingcrime.com · 25/06/2026
EPISODE ALERT 🚨: #96 now available! @jerryratcliffe.net talks to @ucl.ac.uk Dawes Professor of Future Crime #Shane_Johnson about cybercrime, how the internet of things creates crime opportunities, and ... toasters? 👇 Apple: apple.co/4f6qzzl Spotify: bit.ly/4aEUInZ
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Rude1 Haunted Badness. ⁂ @rude1.blacksky.team · 30/05/2026
in this video in like 4 different ways and I hate that
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 27/05/2026
Join me in a couple of weeks for an online zoom session to learn more about the UPenn Master of Applied Criminology and Police Leadership program. Details: www.linkedin.com/events/74652...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 27/05/2026
Join me in a couple of weeks for an online zoom session to learn more about the UPenn Master of Applied Criminology and Police Leadership program. Details: www.linkedin.com/events/74652...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 12/05/2026
With fewer reviewers and AI helping generate more academic articles, anticipate more desk rejects. Not because articles aren't technically proficient, but because editors will have to be more selective. I foresee editors will have much greater influence in the future.
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Reducing Crime @reducingcrime.com · 29/04/2026
PODCAST ALERT 🚨 #94 @jerryratcliffe.net talks with Ukrainian police consultant Bohdan Denysenko on wartime policing in Ukraine—Soviet legacies, EU reforms, and the shift to intelligence-led policing amid changing crime risks. Listen: Apple: apple.co/4w0oZ9I Spotify: bit.ly/4tI8Owg
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#94 (Bohdan Denysenko)
Podcast Episode · Reducing Crime · April 29 · 32m
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 29/04/2026
New podcast episode finds me sitting in a Kyiv cafe sipping latte with Baileys after discussing whether we should leave the building during a missile attack. It's a funny old world... Anyway, here we are talking about decision-makers in the intelligence cycle 👇
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 20/04/2026
"The current case for alternative response as a...replacement for the police...is grounded in weak analysis and skirts over potential adverse outcomes. Worse, these efforts may deflect attention from the potential benefits of improving law enforcement capability" www.vitalcitynyc.org/policing-alt...
vitalcitynyc.org
Why It (Almost) Always Makes Sense to Send the Cops
Civilian alternative response systems are badly oversold.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 20/04/2026
"Advocates of a public health approach to violence deploy carefully selected data to point out that crime control is a small part of policing. Clearly someone forgot to tell folk in Philadelphia". 2/3rds of police patrol is crime or disorder related. www.vitalcitynyc.org/policing-alt...
vitalcitynyc.org
Why It (Almost) Always Makes Sense to Send the Cops
Civilian alternative response systems are badly oversold.
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Vital City @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
"Debates about alternative responses often place significant weight on 'lived experience' as a qualification for service providers. There is limited evidence here, and what evidence does exist is mixed," @jerryratcliffe.net writes. www.vitalcitynyc.org/policing-alt...
vitalcitynyc.org
Why It (Almost) Always Makes Sense to Send the Cops
Civilian alternative response systems are badly oversold.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 17/04/2026
Alternative police response continues to be promoted as a silver bullet without any downsides, but I think there are risks and unanticipated possible adverse outcomes that haven’t been considered. Take a read. You be the judge. www.vitalcitynyc.org/policing-alt...
vitalcitynyc.org
Against Alternative Response
Civilian alternative response systems are badly oversold.
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Professor Laura Huey @drlaurahuey.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Pleased to announce the entire first issue of @evidencebasejnl.bsky.social is available to read online until May 31st. www.tandfonline.com/toc/rebj20/c...
tandfonline.com
Evidence Base
Volume 1, Issue 1 of Evidence Base
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Professor Laura Huey @drlaurahuey.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
"A shortage of ‘copaganda fascists’ and the need for more police pracademics" by @jerryratcliffe.net from our inaugural issue @evidencebasejnl.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 06/04/2026
"The defund police movement offers few evidence-based ideas to deal with gang violence. Their primary recommendation—violence interrupters and gang outreach workers—has a very mixed evidence base characterized by a prevalence of null and backfire effects on serious violence"
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Matt Ashby @mattashby.com · 11/03/2026
You’ve probably already both seen this paper by @jerryratcliffe.net that uses victim descriptions of suspects to try to overcome the problem of trying to judge disparities in offending from arrest data. doi.org/10.1186/s401...
doi.org
Police stops and naïve denominators - Crime Science
A comparison of the racial composition of police stops to the entire population of a city or jurisdiction is frequently cited as evidence of racial bias in proactive policework. This article argues th...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 08/03/2026
The UPenn Master of Applied Criminology and Police Leadership is now accepting applications for the next cohort that will start in the Fall. This is the first dedicated policing degree at an Ivy League institution. Learn more at www.lps.upenn.edu/degree-progr... vimeo.com/1171507776/e...
vimeo.com
MCPL overview 2026 (subtitled)
This is "MCPL overview 2026 (subtitled)" by Reducing Crime on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 23/02/2026
Peter Moskos may not be popular with the progressive 'we hate policing' folk, but he is a reasonable and honest critic of good & bad policing. New ep Thursday, but for now enjoy this snippet from the current episode, with Peter talking about what you are judged on when you join a police shift.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 12/02/2026
We won the cold war, and then gave it all away. What a betrayal.
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Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
New pod out with @jerryratcliffe.net! Jerry is one of the smartest voices out there working to use research & science to improve policing. Give it a listen! Apple - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/4k6E... Amazon - music.amazon.com/podcasts/cad...
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 17/01/2026
Police departments struggle to find research partners, in part because academic criminology has actively worked against policing research for some years now. Source: www.jerryratcliffe.net/_files/ugd/f...
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Stijn Ruiter @stijnruiter.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Do you explore intersections between digitalization and geography of crime? @asiermoneva.com, Wim Bernasco and I look forward to your contribution to our guest-edited special issue “The Geography of Crime in the Digital Era”. See call for papers (www.sciencedirect.com/journal/jour...). Please share.
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Professor Laura Huey @drlaurahuey.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
The first paper in our inaugural collection is now out. Much thanks @jerryratcliffe.net www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
A shortage of ‘copaganda fascists’ and the need for more police pracademics
This essay examines the evolving relationship between policing and academia, highlighting the increasing significance of pracademics – police practitioners with scientific training who, like embedd...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 29/11/2025
Crime nerds, I need help. @LessCrime's excellent RSS feed recently posted an article about what I think was a study looking at if people took more cyber crime prevention advice when it was from authorities rather than hackers (if I recall), but now I can't find it. Anyone help? @asiermoneva.com?
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 19/11/2025
BlueSky filesize limits are a p.i.t.a, but if you want weekly summaries of key crime and policing studies and ideas, please follow reducingcrime_ over at instagram, or Reducing Crime on LinkedIn.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 11/11/2025
This week is the ASC conference, so here’s mentions of “abolish” in recent programs: 2021 1 program, 5 submissions 2022 1 submission 2023 4 programs, 5 subs 2024 5 programs, 3 subs 2025 2 programs (not incl. one about abolishing nuclear weapons) Is this idea's rampant stupidity finally receding?
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 08/11/2025
The American Society of Criminology conference is next week and this is your annual reminder that most of the presentations will likely be 💩 Here are some ways to be less 💩 www.jerryratcliffe.net/post/i-want-...
jerryratcliffe.net
I want a refund for your conference presentation
There is a problem with academic criminal justice and criminology, and it’s getting worse.I’ve attended several conferences and meetings in the last three months. And the standard of presentation is d...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 05/11/2025
If you aren't following the work of @benbradford.bsky.social then you are missing out on thoughtful insights into policing and public safety. Apple: apple.co/4opeJDD Spotify: bit.ly/3WBBJ6f
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#88 (Ben Bradford)
Podcast Episode · Reducing Crime · 10/30/2025 · 34m
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 11/10/2025
An interesting thought experiment here, and ... if you follow the logic of the thread, raises broader and potentially significant questions about the validity of 'lived experience' as a viable criminological research tool.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 07/10/2025
Featuring a little of my chat with @martinkaste.bsky.social on the crime reduction implications of the deployment of National Guard in Washington DC. www.npr.org/2025/10/02/n...
npr.org
National Guard presence may deter crime, but experts warn of the long-term costs
As President Trump ramps up efforts to send federal officers and troops into cities, criminologists are watching closely. Are the feds doing this in a smart way?
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 14/09/2025
To contextualize this week’s political commentary, of the 2,647 identified extremist violent offenders in the US since 2000, far-right extremists were more than 7 times more represented in the data than far-left extremists. * No, this isn’t to negate the abhorrent shooting this week.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 02/09/2025
A must-read op-ed by Keith Humphreys in the NY Times, covers both how harm reduction advocates abandoned communities (hello Kensington in Philadelphia) and why mandating drug treatment will help many. His @reducingcrime.com podcast ep is a must: apple.co/4ne9Jko www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Forcing People Into Drug Treatment Can Save Their Lives
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 02/09/2025
In the new episode of the @reducingcrime.com podcast, @mattbland.bsky.social - former analyst and now evidence-based policing guru - explains the value he got from socializing with police officers. Apple: apple.co/4g269aC Spotify: bit.ly/4oXiQYc
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 30/08/2025
Just asked Google how President Trump activated the National Guard. The response was... not optimal.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 28/08/2025
Fun chat covering Matt's experiences as an analyst in the National Intelligence Model and where #evidence-based_policing is right now. Tons of great advice for crime analysts working with police departments.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 24/08/2025
New Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent training to go from 18 weeks to 8 weeks, and dropping the degree requirement? If the plan is to make the FBI a laughing stock, this is the way to do it. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/u...
nytimes.com
F.B.I. Plans to Lower Recruiting Standards, Alarming Agents
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Matt Ashby @mattashby.com · 18/08/2025
When working out if people from different ethnic groups are stopped by police disproportionately, it really matters what population you compare the number of stops to. This paper by @jerryratcliffe.net compares several good and bad options:
doi.org
Police stops and naïve denominators
A comparison of the racial composition of police stops to the entire population of a city or jurisdiction is frequently cited as evidence of racial bias in proactive policework. This article argues that...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 05/08/2025
With fiscal austerity affecting many police departments, the costs of analytical software can be seen as prohibitive. Here, @mattashby.com is doing a considerable service to the crime analysis community with this new #Rstat package.
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Reducing Crime @reducingcrime.com · 30/07/2025
If you are over on IG I’ve started a new series of short crime and policing- related reels like this one on procedurally-just speeding tickets reducing speeding. www.instagram.com/reel/DLzfdoI...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 28/07/2025
If you have civilian staff in your police department, you will want to forward this podcast episode to them. Packed with tips on how to survive as a senior civilian leader in policing, from one of the best.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 21/07/2025
Alex Murray from the Society of Evidence-Based Policing kicks off the global societies meeting in Cambridge to a packed room.
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Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Strong evidence for a captured apex court. Compiled by the excellent Adam Bonica.
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 18/07/2025
If you are over on instagram, I'm posting sub-90 second snippets about crime and policing.
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Reducing Crime @reducingcrime.com · 13/07/2025
If you are over on IG I’ve started a new series of short crime and policing- related reels like this one: www.instagram.com/reel/DLpeOhk...
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Jerry Ratcliffe @jerryratcliffe.net · 06/07/2025
Are US cities underpoliced? Yes, according to two studies by Aaron Chalfin. See the findings in about 60 seconds www.instagram.com/reel/DLpeOhk...
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