Travis CNN Interview, "CNN Sunday Morning"

• NCJ Number: 164678
• Author(s): J Travis; W Bratton
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 0 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: CNN
• Sale Source: CNN
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Color VHS video, 1 hr. 38 mins.; relevant material is 15 minutes.

Annotation

This video portrays a segment of "CNN Sunday Morning" (January 12, 1997) in which Jeremy Travis, the Director of the National Institute of Justice, and William Bratton, former New York City Police Commissioner, discuss factors that have influenced the current significant and widespread reduction in crime in the United States.

Abstract

An introductory segment notes the current crime reduction and provides some video "clips" of programs and concepts that many believe have contributed to this crime reduction. These include community policing, the greater involvement of citizens in public safety programs, increased incarceration, early intervention to prevent the evolution of criminal careers, and the reduced proportion of youth in the population who are in the crime-prone years. Jeremy Travis confirms that crime in America has decreased significantly throughout the United States, particularly in large cities. William Bratton attributes New York City's dramatic crime decrease to the targeting of the population that causes crime, i.e., young offenders who evolve into serious offenders. New York City has focused on increasing the number of officers on patrol in high-crime areas in an effort to counter petty crime and intervene with young offenders, so as to prevent their moving on to more serious crimes. Bratton also notes that community policing that emphasizes crime prevention through police-community cooperation and addresses the problems that contribute to crime has been influential in reducing crime. Travis advises that the persistent fear of crime among citizens even though crime has decreased is due to the time lag in public awareness. He notes that an emphasis on reducing access to guns and undermining juveniles' gang affiliation can contribute to a lessening of citizens' fear of violence. Bratton suggests that the increased police presence in New York City subways and their attention to petty crimes has reduced people's fear of being on New York streets. Both Travis and Bratton discount the inevitability of a crime increase due to a projected increase in the number of youth in the crime-prone years in the near future. They believe that the crime rate is less influenced by demographics than by crime-control policies.