WATCH: PragerU Explains ‘How To Make Our Cities Safer’

The crime rates across the United States have been on a steady rise since the beginning of the 2020s, contrary to the decrease seen since the 1990s. To shed light on four policy changes that could quickly reverse this trend, former federal prosecutor Tom Hogan sat with PragerU.

1. Target the “power few”
2. Go after the drug dealers and gun-carrying felons
3. Unite police and prosecutors
4. Keep the bad actors in jail

“These solutions are not theoretical; they are street tested and backed by rigorous studies,” emphasized Hogan. “They are constitutional and cost-effective. By implementing all of them together, they can transform a city, not in decades, but within a year or two.”

Initially, Hogan points out that violence follows predictable patterns. They generally occur in a handful of “crime hot spots,” disproportionately on nights and weekends, and during summer. Additionally, a small group of offenders commit the majority of violent crimes.

“In any given city, just 5% of criminals are responsible for 50% of all violent crimes,” Hogan disclosed. “It’s not 5% of the total population of the city, but it is 5% of the criminals.”

By concentrating on these crime spots and getting a few serial offenders off the streets, the police can have a substantial impact on violent crime.

In the same vein, focus on drug dealers and illegally armed felons. Not only are they themselves career criminals, but they are also closely linked to criminal networks that smuggle illegal goods across the country and have witnessed far more crimes than they have committed. When they face severe sentences, they will often flip and give valuable information on other cases in exchange for leniency.

Hogan also highlights the need for police and prosecutors to collaborate during the process to prevent legal slip-ups or careless evidence presentation. Hogan laments the current state of affairs, where police departments and prosecutors are frequently at odds, stating that poor cooperation only benefits criminals.

Lastly, Hogan emphasizes the need for longer sentencing, citing two researches by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which found that sentences exceeding five years were correlated with lower rates of recidivism.

The intuitive understanding that the terror of longer sentences discourages crime is relevant. Hogan also mentions the age-crime curve, a widely observed statistical phenomenon showing that male criminal aggression peaks in late adolescence.

“Most violent criminals commit the majority of their crimes from their late teens into their 20s,” Hogan stated.

This age range is when testosterone levels are at their peak, which is correlated with aggression and impulsive behavior. The prefrontal cortex, which manages complicated reasoning and long-term decision-making, does not completely develop until around age 25, which is coincidentally when the likelihood of a given male violently offending begins to decrease steeply.

“Prison sentences of over five years merely take these violent criminals out of circulation when they’re at their most dangerous.”

Watch the video below to learn more:

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