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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 1d

Hard to get into detail for an op-ed piece that can only be 600-700 words. The book is 10 chapters and allows me the ability to expand on all the points I tried making in the op-ed.

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 2d

New op-ed in @starledger.bsky.social @nj.com :
www.nj.com/opinion/2025...

A summer without murder doesn’t tell Camden’s whole story | Opinion

The city's dramatic reduction in homicides came through controversial reforms that placed policing power in the hands of a wealthier, whiter county government.

www.nj.com

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 5d

open.substack.com/pub/johnshja...

The “Kavanaugh” Stop:

Profiling of Hispanics is Legal

open.substack.com

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 6d

The "Kavanaugh" Stop
open.substack.com/pub/johnshja...

The “Kavanaugh” Stop:

Profiling of Hispanics is Legal

open.substack.com

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 6d

I jotted down a few thoughts:
open.substack.com/pub/johnshja...

The “Kavanaugh” Stop:

Profiling of Hispanics is Legal

open.substack.com

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 6d

Surreal to see your own book out in the wild. Available here:
www.amazon.com/Chasing-Chan...

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 7d

I don't get it. About 15ish years ago, the federal courts ruled the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's "show me your papers" law was unconstitutional. Too many stops were made without the requisite reasonable suspicion - often due to perceived immigration status. What is the difference now?

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 8d

Yep...

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 13d

Interested in learning more about how Camden got here? Check out my new book "Chasing Change in Camden: Police Reform in One of America's Most Violent Cities." Available on Amazon.
www.nj.com/camden/2025/...

N.J. city has no summer homicides for first time in a half-century

Crime has dropped sharply in Camden in the past decade.

www.nj.com

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 13d

Turns out passing the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was good policy. Letting the ARPA of 2021 expire was bad policy. Poverty is a policy choice.

Stephen Semler @stephensemler.bsky.social · 15d

New Census Bureau data: Poverty and child poverty both increased under Biden.

2020–24:
Poverty: +40.2% (+13.7 million)
Child poverty: +38.1% (+2.5 million)

Poverty and child poverty increased under Biden. Despite both reaching record lows in 2021. This chart shows poverty starting at 9.2% in 2020, falling in 2021, rising in 2022 and 2023, and ending at 12.9% in 2024. Child poverty starts at 9.7% in 2020 and ends at 13.4% in 2024 and follows the same basic trajectory as overall poverty. Data: Census Bureau. Poverty measure: SPM.

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 19d

How did Camden, NJ manage to reduce its homicide rate by 75% in 12 years?
templepress.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/h...

How did Camden, NJ manage to reduce its homicide rate by 75% in 12 years?

This week in North Philly Notes, John Shjarback, author of Chasing Change in Camden, recounts the city’s efforts at police reform that contributed to significant crime reduction. In 2012, Cam…

templepress.wordpress.com

John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 19d

“Or involuntary lethal injection or something — just kill ‘em.”
open.substack.com/pub/johnshja...

“Or involuntary lethal injection or something — just kill ‘em.”

Our Failed Approach to People in Crisis

open.substack.com

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Reposted by John Shjarback

John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 21d

Camden, NJ had 67 homicides in 2012 (including 21 in the summer months). In 2024, the city had 17 (including 4 in the summer months). Read about it in "Chasing Change in Camden: Police Reform in One of America's Most Violent Cities."
www.amazon.com/Chasing-Chan...

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 21d

Camden, NJ had 67 homicides in 2012 (including 21 in the summer months). In 2024, the city had 17 (including 4 in the summer months). Read about it in "Chasing Change in Camden: Police Reform in One of America's Most Violent Cities."
www.amazon.com/Chasing-Chan...

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 27d

Trump's Politicization of the Military and Federal Law Enforcement
open.substack.com/pub/johnshja...

Trump's Politicization the Military and Federal Law Enforcement

At Levels We've Never Seen Before

open.substack.com

John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 27d

The juxtaposition of September 10 and 11 is palpable. Yesterday, we couldn't have felt more divided as country with the political assassination of Charlie Kirk. We are light-years away from how Americans were united following 9/11/01.

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 27d

I hope everyone condemning the tragic & horrific murder of Charlie Kirk would have just as strongly condemned the murder of 2 MN legislators, the near-fatal attack on Paul Pelosi (looking for @nancypelosi69.bsky.social , & the Jan. 6 insurrection. & vice vera. Too much political violence.

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 28d

We Know How to Combat Violent Crime. Sending In the Troops Isn’t It. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/o...

Opinion | We Know How to Combat Violent Crime. Sending In the Troops Isn’t It.

www.nytimes.com

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John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 28d

We are now light-years away from preventing law enforcement from conducting detentive stops without reasonable suspicion. Remember when a federal court found that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the MCSO's "show me your papers" policy was unconstitutional?
www.aclu.org/press-releas...

Federal Court Rules Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Violated U.S. Constitution | American Civil Liberties Union

Arpaio and His Deputies Have Engaged in Racial Profiling Against Latinos in Maricopa County...

www.aclu.org

John Shjarback @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social · 29d

Another day, another unconscionable SCOTUS attack on constitutional protections. Amy Coney Barrett, just a few days ago, declared there was "no constitutional crisis." That statement couldn't be more false.

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · Sep 8

BREAKING: By an apparent 6–3 vote, the Supreme Court halts an injunction that had prevented immigration agents from racially profiling Latinos in central California.

Sotomayor, dissenting, says the decision is "unconscionably irreconcilable with our nation's constitutional guarantees."