Police shootings of civilians, the election of Donald Trump, Russian cyber-espionage and the assassinations of cops in Dallas and other cities are among this year’s 10 major criminal justice stories chosen in The Crime Report’s 6th annual readers’ poll.
New York, NY, December 22, 2016 – Dallas Police Chief David O. Brown’s cool-headed management of the crisis caused by the assassination of five officers by a lone sniper in July made him the most significant criminal justice newsmaker of 2016, The Crime Report said today in announcing the results of its 6th annual readers’ poll.
Brown’s leadership during a chaotic week of events that horrified most Americans cemented his position as one of the nation’s most admired police leaders, and ensured that “the hard-won climate of openness and partnership between Dallas residents and police was preserved,” said TCR editor Stephen Handelman, citing one reader who called Brown a “true hero.”
Brown, who has since retired from the Dallas police, stood out in a year marked by violent tragedy and uncertainty, Handelman noted, adding that the results of this year’s survey reflects Americans’ “feelings of unease, as well as concern about what the future holds.”
Among the top 10 criminal justice news stories or developments chosen by TCR readers, staff and contributors were: the continuing incidents of police shootings of civilians around the country, which reached 933 by mid-December; the election of Donald Trump following a campaign marked by “law and order” rhetoric; the assassinations of police officers in Dallas, Baton Rouge and elsewhere; the rise in homicide rates in many American cities; and the Orlando nightclub massacre of 49 people by an individual claiming allegiance to an Islamic terrorist group.
Readers also singled out Russian hackers’ theft of email messages of U.S. campaign operatives, which U.S. intelligence agencies later traced to the highest levels of the Kremlin—making clear that American cyberspace is increasingly “threatened with becoming a vast crime scene, vulnerable to political as well as commercial sabotage,” said Handelman.
On the positive side, TCR poll respondents singled out the growing significance of the bipartisan movement for justice reform in the states, and long-overdue congressional action on the opioid crisis with this month’s 21st Century Cures Act, which approving $500 million in funding for state efforts to counsel substance abusers.
Second place in the Newsmakers poll was shared by Trump and FBI Director James Comey, who occupied the public spotlight this year for his outspokenness on race and policing, as well as his 11th-hour announcement of new “evidence” on Hillary Clinton’s emails—which critics contend influenced the election outcome.
For the full article on the criminal justice newsmaker of the year and the top ten justice stories of 2016, please click HERE.
The Crime Report is produced by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Criminal Justice Journalists.
For questions about this release, please contact Stephen Handelman at 212-873-5593 or shandelman@jjay.cuny.edu
An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu.
