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Peter Moskos

@moskos.bsky.social
1.1K followers 408 following 474 posts

Author of Back from the Brink. t.co/mABbQyS1jf Professor. Writer. New Yorker. Here for the pigeons and also discourse on policing and criminal justice.

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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Bird wings are so fucking cool. This bird is very young.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I don't know what else to use Bluesky for. This is Penelope. My favorite pigeon since 2020.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
An interview with me and the ever insightful Richard Day. citythatworks.substack.com/p/in-the-199...
citythatworks.substack.com
In the 1990s, New York brought crime to record lows. Why couldn’t Chicago do the same?
An interview with Peter Moskos
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Israel is carrying out a systematic campaign to demolish and erase Bint Jbeil, my hometown in southern Lebanon — an interview with @tcambanis.bsky.social for his “Order from Ashes” podcast | thecenturyfoundation.podbean.com/e/erasing-bi...
Aerial view of large scale destruction inflicted on the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, with an Israeli tank parked in the center of the photo.Text of podcast promotional poster: 

ORDER FROM ASHES

Erasing Bint Jbail:
What War Is Like Now
Mohamad Bazzi

Listen wherever you find podcasts
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
The % of shooting victims in NYC who are Black or Hispanic is 96%, and it has varied very little—even as total numbers have changed. This racial disparity exists year after year after year. It’s amazing how few are aware. (Or purposefully ignored it in related public policy and police discussions).
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
And I could be AI. Like the not the concept. But the actual photo. It's what phones do now.
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Andrew Burton @burtonad.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Pete Hegseth: God, I wish I was a hitman in Pulp Fiction. Barack Obama and Zohran Mamdani: Boy, it would be fun to be Mr Rogers.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
I'm quoted in this: www.thecity.nyc/2026/02/27/s...
thecity.nyc
Snow Shovelers Answered the Mayor’s Call, But Payday May Not Arrive Until Spring
Mamdani’s $30-per-hour rate got lots of people clearing sidewalks, but some workers who shoveled in past storms have yet to see a paycheck.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
I was out shoveling show for the city of New York during the blizzards. You're welcome. It was both miserable and very satisfying work from 8pm to 4am.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Is there any research on if police "legitimacy" in NY increased after all the changes promising that benefit? Starting with the end of excessive SQF, to drug legalization, bail reform & limitations on use of force. (I suspect not, because I think the concept is flawed. But IDK.)
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Want more pigeons? I've decided to turn my (previously never used) instagram account into a pigeonfluencer extravaganza. www.instagram.com/nycpigeonflu...
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
I'll be on Katie Couric's substack live at 5:30PM eastern (1 hour from now) substack.com/@katiecouric
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Me on NPR www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...
npr.org
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.
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
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.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
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.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Charts I made of the homicide rate for whites and blacks, going back to 1968. (2025 is an estimate)
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
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...
qualitypolicing.com
Murders down in 2025! Celebrate. It’s hard work, not a “trend” – Quality Policing
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Jeff Asher @jeffasher.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
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.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
"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...
washingtonmonthly.com
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.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Pigeon Pic of the Day
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
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
amzn.to
Back from the Brink: Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
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")
mynoise.net
Background Noises • Ambient Sounds • Relaxing Music | myNoise ®
myNoise sets the standard for online background noise machines and interactive soundscapes.
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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
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.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
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...
citythatworks.substack.com
Book review: Back from the Brink
More lessons from New York
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Mohamad Bazzi @mbazzi.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
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...
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
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...
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Karolina Muchova Fan Club @muchovafanclub.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
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...
chicago.suntimes.com
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...
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kimcwashington.bsky.social @kimcwashington.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
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
media.tenor.com
a woman with a surprised look on her face
ALT: a woman with a surprised look on her face
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
My newly rediscovered 2017 phone call with Baltimore Police legend Tony Barksdale. On how to police down violence and save lives. That was all he cared about. And he succeeded. Rest in peace. qualitypolicing.com/qpp-63-tony-...
qualitypolicing.com
QPP 63: Tony Barksdale – Quality Policing
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Miss baseball? Watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfL...
youtube.com
Hot mics and hidden angles from the ALCS, a breakdown
YouTube video by Jomboy Media
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Bill Bratton came in to speak to my master's program today. Three legends and me. John Miller, Bill Bratton, Chauncey Parker. This was a good class.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
"Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years." What a fabulously hilarious progressive spin on their own data/chart which shows NY incarceration rates in massive decline over the past 30 years! www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/NY....
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
For those who insist poverty is the driving force behind crime and violence, please answer me this: From 1990 to 2000, NYC saw a 20.5% increase in people living in poverty (a 10% increase in rate). 283,994 more people! How did murders simultaneously drop by two-thirds in 1990s NYC?
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
A slogan has ONE FUCKING JOB. Epic fail. Also Abolish Prisons. Goddam pratfall. Oh, and every time someone arrives on a thread to explain to me that it doesn't mean defund the entire agency, or abolish all incarceration, two others chime in to say yes, it does mean that. So more failure.
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
ACAB and Defund The Police -- the two most destructive messaging efforts from sloganeers who don't actually want to fix a fucking thing and will, at every opportunity, alienate the entire electorate from actual police reform for the sheer pleasure of their own self-regarding purities. Eat a dick.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
On "bail reform." Does it "work"?
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Your occasional reminder that in NYC the vast majority of criminal cases are not prosecuted. In the Bronx just 22% of felony and 12% of misdemeanor arrests result in a conviction. (Outside NYC, in the rest of the state, the figures are 67% and 52%, respectively.) qualitypolicing.com/same-city-di...
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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Yes, your honor, we received and sold stolen goods, but if there was no market for such we wouldn't have done so. Our customers are to blame. We live in a golden age of shamelessness and grift.
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Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 14/11/2025
weird how vance keeps saying this!
Post
Conversation
Acyn
@Acyn
Vance: I serve under Donald Trump who is very healthy.. I don't think about that. That's part of the job, you have to be ready if tragedy strikes…
Formal interview setting in a wood-paneled room with American flags and chairs. JD Vance in a dark suit and red tie sits across from Sean Hannity in a gray suit. Fox News graphics overlay the screen including Exclusive Interview with Vice President JD Vance and VP Vance on his role as Vice President. Vance speaks calmly with occasional smiles while Hannity listens attentively. Breaking News chyron appears at the bottom.
9:28 PM · Nov 13, 2025
·
17K
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https://x.com/acyn/status/1989158357698253097
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
I discuss NY Bail Reform with the authors of 5 reports on bail reform. If you care about bail reform (or think it works perfectly or it's all bad) it behooves you to listen to this Quality Policing Podcast episode. It's a deep hour-long dive. qualitypolicing.com/qpp-62-bail-...
qualitypolicing.com
QPP 62: Bail Reform – Quality Policing
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Musa Okwonga @okwonga.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
“There were no political or religious motivations. They were rich people who went there for fun and personal satisfaction. We are talking about people who love guns who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safari in Africa.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Prosecutors in Milan have opened an investigation into Italians who allegedly paid members of the Bosnian Serb army for trips to Sarajevo so that they could kill citizens during the four-year siege of the city in the 1990s.

More than 10,000 people were killed in Sarajevo by constant shelling and sniper fire between 1992 and 1996 in what was the longest siege in modern history, after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
[Excuse me while I hit my head against a wall.]
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
I guess you can't sell the parking meters twice
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Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
I legit can’t figure out the play on these FAA flight cancellations. Who’s the White House trying to pressure. And who do they think people are gonna get mad at when Thanksgiving goes down the drain?
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
So sad. Tony was a great guy. And his leadership saved so many lives. Only 53. www.thebanner.com/obituaries/a...
thebanner.com
Anthony Barksdale, deputy mayor, dies
Anthony Barksdale, Baltimore City’s deputy mayor for public safety and a former deputy police commissioner, died Thursday. He was 53.
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
The non-stop Maddrey, Kaz, Shell scandals plus the Adams/Banks strategy of trying to suppress crime by blanketing the city in OT shifts really has done a number on PD morale — hellgatenyc.com/three-nypd-c...
hellgatenyc.com
Three NYPD Cops on the 2025 Mayoral Race: 'I Like That Mamdani Is a Dreamer'
Forced overtime, cronyism in the C-suite, and a rising attrition rate are some of their biggest concerns for the next mayor of New York City to address.
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Simon Rosenberg @simonwdc.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
China bought 30 million metric tons of soybeans from the US last year. This year under Trump it will be 12 million.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
Absurdest protest is so much better (ie: more effective in actually helping your cause) than passionate yelling or breaking-shit or blocking-traffic protest.
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Peter Moskos @moskos.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
The L flag flying above Wrigley tonight
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