"That Type of Destabilization Is What Creates the Conditions for Violence to Emerge"

"My argument is that in areas where communities go through periods of disinvestment and where institutions break down, people feel like they're on their own. This creates conditions where violence becomes more likely. As a place becomes more violent, people change their behavior. They become more likely to interpret uncertainty in an aggressive way, more likely to carry a weapon, more likely to act quickly or first if they feel threatened. This is how the presence of violence creates more violence. This cascading effect, where violence begets violence, has been reinforced in the past year."

At The Atlantic, Derek Thompson interviews sociologist Patrick Sharkey about the new crime wave.