Peter Moskos
@moskos.bsky.social
Author of Back from the Brink. https://t.co/mABbQyS1jf
Professor. Writer. New Yorker. Here for the pigeons and also discourse on policing and criminal justice.
Professor. Writer. New Yorker. Here for the pigeons and also discourse on policing and criminal justice.
Want more pigeons? I've decided to turn my (previously never used) instagram account into a pigeonfluencer extravaganza. www.instagram.com/nycpigeonflu...
February 17, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Want more pigeons? I've decided to turn my (previously never used) instagram account into a pigeonfluencer extravaganza. www.instagram.com/nycpigeonflu...
I'll be on Katie Couric's substack live at 5:30PM eastern (1 hour from now)
substack.com/@katiecouric
substack.com/@katiecouric
January 29, 2026 at 9:36 PM
I'll be on Katie Couric's substack live at 5:30PM eastern (1 hour from now)
substack.com/@katiecouric
substack.com/@katiecouric
Me on NPR
www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...
Former cop talks about what went wrong leading up to fatal Minneapolis shooting
NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Peter Moskos, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former cop, about what went wrong when a federal agent killed a nurse in Minneapolis.
www.npr.org
January 27, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Me on NPR
www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...
Reposted by Peter Moskos
As a reporter, I carried the home phone number of Maryland's chief district judge in my wallet. The Hon. Dennis Sweeney would, on an ask, explain to recalcitrant desk sergeants and shift lieutenants that he would hold them in contempt if they denied the public the face sheet of any shooting report.
I heard someone say it was “extreme” to demand the names of the ICE agents who murdered Alex Pretti.
No. Demanding government disclosure of the names of government agents when they kill Americans is moderate.
Wanting to read the names off the plaque at a mass grave would be, perhaps, extreme.
No. Demanding government disclosure of the names of government agents when they kill Americans is moderate.
Wanting to read the names off the plaque at a mass grave would be, perhaps, extreme.
January 27, 2026 at 5:32 PM
As a reporter, I carried the home phone number of Maryland's chief district judge in my wallet. The Hon. Dennis Sweeney would, on an ask, explain to recalcitrant desk sergeants and shift lieutenants that he would hold them in contempt if they denied the public the face sheet of any shooting report.
Is there anybody on bluesky saying it's actually bad (both morally and politically) to go into churches -- even ones with people you really really disagree with -- and interrupt and protest? I haven't looked too hard, granted, but I can't find anybody saying, uh, actually, no, _don't_ do this.
January 19, 2026 at 11:28 PM
Is there anybody on bluesky saying it's actually bad (both morally and politically) to go into churches -- even ones with people you really really disagree with -- and interrupt and protest? I haven't looked too hard, granted, but I can't find anybody saying, uh, actually, no, _don't_ do this.
Charts I made of the homicide rate for whites and blacks, going back to 1968. (2025 is an estimate)
January 5, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Charts I made of the homicide rate for whites and blacks, going back to 1968. (2025 is an estimate)
I have a new blog post on murders being down in most cities. It's happening nearly everywhere. It's still not a "trend."
qualitypolicing.com/murders-down...
qualitypolicing.com/murders-down...
Murders down in 2025! Celebrate. It’s hard work, not a “trend” – Quality Policing
qualitypolicing.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:30 AM
I have a new blog post on murders being down in most cities. It's happening nearly everywhere. It's still not a "trend."
qualitypolicing.com/murders-down...
qualitypolicing.com/murders-down...
Reposted by Peter Moskos
I've confirmed that San Francisco, Bridgeport, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia hit the lowest levels since before 1970 this year. New Orleans tied 2019 for the lowest since 1970. Still waiting on data from the other cities but likely to check out.
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
January 2, 2026 at 2:12 AM
I've confirmed that San Francisco, Bridgeport, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia hit the lowest levels since before 1970 this year. New Orleans tied 2019 for the lowest since 1970. Still waiting on data from the other cities but likely to check out.
"Peter Moskos’s Back from the Brink is both oral history and urban epic."
2026 starts strong! "Urban epic" sure has a nice ring to it.
From Michael Fortner's review of "Back from the Brink," just out today in the Washington Monthly. Positive _and_ insightful!
washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/01/h...
2026 starts strong! "Urban epic" sure has a nice ring to it.
From Michael Fortner's review of "Back from the Brink," just out today in the Washington Monthly. Positive _and_ insightful!
washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/01/h...
How New York City Got Safe
Back from the Brink is a historical reconstruction of the New York crime decline, told from inside the institutions responsible for safety.
washingtonmonthly.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:09 PM
"Peter Moskos’s Back from the Brink is both oral history and urban epic."
2026 starts strong! "Urban epic" sure has a nice ring to it.
From Michael Fortner's review of "Back from the Brink," just out today in the Washington Monthly. Positive _and_ insightful!
washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/01/h...
2026 starts strong! "Urban epic" sure has a nice ring to it.
From Michael Fortner's review of "Back from the Brink," just out today in the Washington Monthly. Positive _and_ insightful!
washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/01/h...
Pigeon Pic of the Day
December 23, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Pigeon Pic of the Day
Why yes, for those who prefer to listen, my book "Back from the Brink" *is* available on audio. And yes, it does make a great Christmas present for yourself and your loved ones. And all for the low low price of $21.49! Or buy a ten pack for just $214.90 and give them out like candy. amzn.to/3MONwfW
Back from the Brink: Inside the NYPD and New York City's Extraordinary 1990s Crime Drop
amzn.to
December 22, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Why yes, for those who prefer to listen, my book "Back from the Brink" *is* available on audio. And yes, it does make a great Christmas present for yourself and your loved ones. And all for the low low price of $21.49! Or buy a ten pack for just $214.90 and give them out like candy. amzn.to/3MONwfW
If you like ambient sound or any sound, check this out: mynoise.net
It's a great website. (It's so great it's in the acknowledgement of my book "Back from the Brink." I honestly don't think I could have focused enough to write it without "Japanese Garden")
It's a great website. (It's so great it's in the acknowledgement of my book "Back from the Brink." I honestly don't think I could have focused enough to write it without "Japanese Garden")
Background Noises • Ambient Sounds • Relaxing Music | myNoise ®
myNoise sets the standard for online background noise machines and interactive soundscapes.
mynoise.net
December 17, 2025 at 5:37 AM
If you like ambient sound or any sound, check this out: mynoise.net
It's a great website. (It's so great it's in the acknowledgement of my book "Back from the Brink." I honestly don't think I could have focused enough to write it without "Japanese Garden")
It's a great website. (It's so great it's in the acknowledgement of my book "Back from the Brink." I honestly don't think I could have focused enough to write it without "Japanese Garden")
Reposted by Peter Moskos
Almost half of the non-European population of New Zealand is Maori. There's no way to pretend that this kind of racial thinking in that context is anything but exterminationist.
what do we bet there's been more naziness since this?
. . . & yep, there it is
. . . & yep, there it is
December 12, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Almost half of the non-European population of New Zealand is Maori. There's no way to pretend that this kind of racial thinking in that context is anything but exterminationist.
Great book review of "Back from the Brink" (my book) by Richard Day in "A City that Works":
"A dark, funny and insightful oral history covering the inner workings of the department. It’s also deeply inspiring. It’s hard to recommend highly enough." citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...
"A dark, funny and insightful oral history covering the inner workings of the department. It’s also deeply inspiring. It’s hard to recommend highly enough." citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...
Book review: Back from the Brink
More lessons from New York
citythatworks.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Great book review of "Back from the Brink" (my book) by Richard Day in "A City that Works":
"A dark, funny and insightful oral history covering the inner workings of the department. It’s also deeply inspiring. It’s hard to recommend highly enough." citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...
"A dark, funny and insightful oral history covering the inner workings of the department. It’s also deeply inspiring. It’s hard to recommend highly enough." citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...
Reposted by Peter Moskos
I wrote for @theguardian.com on Trump using the National Guard shooting to demonize Afghans refugees — and how the US has yet to reckon with the blowback caused by its foreign invasions and war on terror | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
December 3, 2025 at 6:40 PM
I wrote for @theguardian.com on Trump using the National Guard shooting to demonize Afghans refugees — and how the US has yet to reckon with the blowback caused by its foreign invasions and war on terror | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Cool. Look who is tops on the "Urban Optimist Holiday Gift Guide"? My book! Back from the Brink. It does indeed make a great stocking stuffer.
Buy it right now, before you forget!
amzn.to/48wt2j5
p.s. It's good for pessimists, too!
www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...
Buy it right now, before you forget!
amzn.to/48wt2j5
p.s. It's good for pessimists, too!
www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...
December 2, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Cool. Look who is tops on the "Urban Optimist Holiday Gift Guide"? My book! Back from the Brink. It does indeed make a great stocking stuffer.
Buy it right now, before you forget!
amzn.to/48wt2j5
p.s. It's good for pessimists, too!
www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...
Buy it right now, before you forget!
amzn.to/48wt2j5
p.s. It's good for pessimists, too!
www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...
Reposted by Peter Moskos
Chicago has the worst mayor in the US. He had a brief respite cosplaying as a resistance hero while Bovino was here; now he is back to his usual insanity. Why would you limit the number of people SPENDING MONEY ON SMALL BUSINESSES? @mayorofchicago.bsky.social
chicago.suntimes.com/business/202...
chicago.suntimes.com/business/202...
Christkindlmarket crowd limit creates uncertainty for vendors
Under a new city restriction, the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza will now be limited to 1,553 visitors at a time — less than half the 3,494 people allowed under the COVID-19 capacity rules set in 20...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Chicago has the worst mayor in the US. He had a brief respite cosplaying as a resistance hero while Bovino was here; now he is back to his usual insanity. Why would you limit the number of people SPENDING MONEY ON SMALL BUSINESSES? @mayorofchicago.bsky.social
chicago.suntimes.com/business/202...
chicago.suntimes.com/business/202...
Reposted by Peter Moskos
Wow Peter, this was a gift! Whenever I would tell people that Tony was responsible for the 1st reduction they would look at me sideways and then he came back and did it again and I was like
a woman with a surprised look on her face
ALT: a woman with a surprised look on her face
media.tenor.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Wow Peter, this was a gift! Whenever I would tell people that Tony was responsible for the 1st reduction they would look at me sideways and then he came back and did it again and I was like
My newly rediscovered 2017 phone call with Baltimore Police legend Tony Barksdale. On how to police down violence and save lives. That was all he cared about. And he succeeded. Rest in peace. qualitypolicing.com/qpp-63-tony-...
QPP 63: Tony Barksdale – Quality Policing
qualitypolicing.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:42 AM
My newly rediscovered 2017 phone call with Baltimore Police legend Tony Barksdale. On how to police down violence and save lives. That was all he cared about. And he succeeded. Rest in peace. qualitypolicing.com/qpp-63-tony-...
Miss baseball? Watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfL...
Hot mics and hidden angles from the ALCS, a breakdown
YouTube video by Jomboy Media
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Miss baseball? Watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfL...
Bill Bratton came in to speak to my master's program today. Three legends and me. John Miller, Bill Bratton, Chauncey Parker. This was a good class.
November 19, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Bill Bratton came in to speak to my master's program today. Three legends and me. John Miller, Bill Bratton, Chauncey Parker. This was a good class.
"Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years." What a fabulously hilarious progressive spin on their own data/chart which shows NY incarceration rates in massive decline over the past 30 years! www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/NY....
November 16, 2025 at 11:17 PM
"Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years." What a fabulously hilarious progressive spin on their own data/chart which shows NY incarceration rates in massive decline over the past 30 years! www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/NY....
For those who insist poverty is the driving force behind crime and violence, please answer me this:
From 1990 to 2000, NYC saw a 20.5% increase in people living in poverty (a 10% increase in rate). 283,994 more people!
How did murders simultaneously drop by two-thirds in 1990s NYC?
From 1990 to 2000, NYC saw a 20.5% increase in people living in poverty (a 10% increase in rate). 283,994 more people!
How did murders simultaneously drop by two-thirds in 1990s NYC?
November 16, 2025 at 8:32 PM
For those who insist poverty is the driving force behind crime and violence, please answer me this:
From 1990 to 2000, NYC saw a 20.5% increase in people living in poverty (a 10% increase in rate). 283,994 more people!
How did murders simultaneously drop by two-thirds in 1990s NYC?
From 1990 to 2000, NYC saw a 20.5% increase in people living in poverty (a 10% increase in rate). 283,994 more people!
How did murders simultaneously drop by two-thirds in 1990s NYC?
Reposted by Peter Moskos
A slogan has ONE FUCKING JOB.
Epic fail.
Also Abolish Prisons. Goddam pratfall.
Oh, and every time someone arrives on a thread to explain to me that it doesn't mean defund the entire agency, or abolish all incarceration, two others chime in to say yes, it does mean that. So more failure.
Epic fail.
Also Abolish Prisons. Goddam pratfall.
Oh, and every time someone arrives on a thread to explain to me that it doesn't mean defund the entire agency, or abolish all incarceration, two others chime in to say yes, it does mean that. So more failure.
November 15, 2025 at 9:57 PM
A slogan has ONE FUCKING JOB.
Epic fail.
Also Abolish Prisons. Goddam pratfall.
Oh, and every time someone arrives on a thread to explain to me that it doesn't mean defund the entire agency, or abolish all incarceration, two others chime in to say yes, it does mean that. So more failure.
Epic fail.
Also Abolish Prisons. Goddam pratfall.
Oh, and every time someone arrives on a thread to explain to me that it doesn't mean defund the entire agency, or abolish all incarceration, two others chime in to say yes, it does mean that. So more failure.
Reposted by Peter Moskos
ACAB and Defund The Police -- the two most destructive messaging efforts from sloganeers who don't actually want to fix a fucking thing and will, at every opportunity, alienate the entire electorate from actual police reform for the sheer pleasure of their own self-regarding purities.
Eat a dick.
Eat a dick.
Okay but ACAB includes David Simon.
Hard, fast rule from a veteran police reporter: Excepting anyone engaged in infiltrating a criminal conspiracy in an undercover capacity, any law officer who hides his identity from the public is a shitheel is doing vile shit and is, in fact, actively destroying the credibility of law enforcement.
November 6, 2025 at 3:02 AM
ACAB and Defund The Police -- the two most destructive messaging efforts from sloganeers who don't actually want to fix a fucking thing and will, at every opportunity, alienate the entire electorate from actual police reform for the sheer pleasure of their own self-regarding purities.
Eat a dick.
Eat a dick.