Mdedge Psychcast

Thomas Abt, JD, spoke with Nick Andrews about his talk at the TEDMED 2020 conference in Boston. Mr. Abt (@Abt_Thomas), senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, discussed his evidence-based and community-informed strategies for reducing urban violence. Mr. Abt earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a law degree from Georgetown University in Washington. Mr. Abt also worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York, and as a teacher in Washington. He has no conflicts of interest.  Summary  Mr. Abt said the three fundamental principles of focus, balance, and fairness are central to interventions for reducing urban violence.  This means focusing on people and places in which urban violence is concentrated, balancing between positive and negative incentives to reduce violence, and facilitating trust between the state and its citizens to foster a sense of fairness.  Mr. Abt’s book, “Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequence