Leaders | Killing reform

Violent crime is rising in American cities, putting criminal-justice reform at risk

What should be done about it?

AFTER GEORGE FLOYD’S murder a year ago, Atlanta’s mayor scolded the rioters who were smashing up parts of her city. “This is not a protest…This is chaos,” Keisha Lance Bottoms said. “If you care about this city, then go home.” The speech was so well pitched that some overexcited pundits wondered whether she might one day run for president. One year on, Ms Lance Bottoms has declined even to run for re-election as mayor, in part because Atlanta is suffering from a violent-crime wave which she has been unable to calm. One affluent neighbourhood is keen to secede from the city altogether.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Killing reform”

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