Why “Crime” Isn’t the Question and Police Aren’t the Answer

Moderates often suggest that “police reduce crime.” But the framing of this statement is much more flawed than it may appear.

A few weeks after the murder of George Floyd, the commentator Matthew Yglesias announced to his four hundred thousand Twitter followers that he was about to deliver (through a now-deleted Twitter thread and a Vox article): “Some thoughts on police.”

When a person like Yglesias, with no expertise in prison and police abolition, offers his general wisdom during a revolutionary political moment that threatens racial and economic privileges...