The dramatic plunge in murders in Nuevo Laredo was the subject of a recent NPR story.  Apparently, warring drug cartels called a truce, and things instantly got better.  Unfortunately, the truce in Nuevo Laredo is now causing problems in Juarez, documented in last week's New York Times.

While…

Freakonomics author Steven Levitt disputes the new report making headlines by James Alan Fox that homicide rates of black teens are up.  Turns out that Fox failed to adust for the increase in the number of blacks ages 15 to 19, which rose 15 percent between 2000 and…

The "broken windows" theory had its day in the sun during the "zero tolerance" policies of the Giuliani adminsitration in New York.  Petty crime, such as graffiti and subway turnstile jumping, were not to be tolerated because, according to the theory, observing disorder has a psychological effect on people. 

The…