Brick City Crime
Show 1413

Newark. Once called the toughest city in America. It’s long been notorious for its sky-high crime rates. But is change in the air?

While challenges remain - as recently depicted in “Brick City,” a five-hour documentary on the Sundance Channel - there may be some positive momentum. The murder rate has fallen, and the mayor regularly ventures out with Newark cops, sweeping the city on night patrols.

But is crime reduction sustainable in a community with soaring unemployment and “generational poverty”? And has the police department gone too far, as the ACLU claims, in its quest to stomp out violence?

Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy tries to answer those questions as our sole guest on this week’s program, with hosts Raymond Brown and Sandra King.