How One Community Reformed Its Police and Cut Its Crime Rate (opens in new tab)

In 2025, Camden, New Jersey—a city of about 72,000 residents that sits across the Delaware River from Philadelphia—experienced its first homicide-free summer in nearly 50 years. The city ended the year with 12 homicides—a stark drop from 2012 when it recorded 67, a per capita rate 18 times the national average at the time. I’m a professor of criminal justice who wrote a book on police reform efforts in Camden over the last 15 years. The stunning turnaround in violent crime has led Camden and ...