November 3-9, 2022 | Issue 4 - Crime
Jamie Betances, Crime Team
Jashanpreet Malhi, Editor; Jennifer Loy, Chief of Staff
Synagogue Service[1]
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: New Jersey, USA
Parties involved: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); law enforcement; suspect; synagogues; New Jersey; New York; California; US; Israel; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Jewish community; marginalized groups; schools
The event: The FBI warned of a broad threat to synagogues in New Jersey on November 3 based on a social media post, instructing the community to take safety precautions.[2]
Analysis & Implications:
Public discontent with economic uncertainty will very likely cause antisemitism to surge, almost certainly increasing discrimination and otherism against Jews. Antisemitism will almost certainly continue to increase in New Jersey, likely increasing the rate of antisemitic harassment and vandalism throughout the upcoming year. Harassment and vandalism will likely occur in public spaces, Jewish institutions, and schools and are unlikely to occur on university campuses and private businesses. Antisemitic physical assaults are unlikely to occur in New Jersey but likely to materialize at a higher rate in New York and California, reflective of the national trend.
The FBI’s alert will very likely increase ongoing media coverage of the threat to synagogues and Jews. Increased media attention will very likely inspire copycats within weeks of the FBI's alert, likely in the form of written or verbal harassment. There is a roughly even chance that online antisemitic speech increases, likely increasing similar hate speech toward other marginalized groups. Racial slurs on social media very likely normalize hateful rhetoric and advertisements on social media, with a roughly even chance of increasing hate crimes offline against targeted groups.
Date: November 7, 2022
Location: Riverside County, California, USA
Parties involved: Riverside County Superior Court Judges; Office of The District Attorney County of Riverside; alleged offenders; victims of crime; victim’s families; communities; Riverside County residents; California governor; California State Legislature
The event: Judges have dismissed over 500 criminal court cases awaiting a jury trial due to a lack of judges, releasing the accused suspects back into the community. Felony dismissals include attempted murder, assault, stalking, arson, vandalism, and a hate crime. Most cases involve domestic violence or driving under the influence, resulting in numerous victims.[3]
Analysis & Implications
Judicial vacancies will likely remain for the remainder of the year, likely leading to further dismissal of criminal cases reinforcing Riverside's current trend. The governor will likely appoint new judges in 2023; however, it is very unlikely that the increase in justices will meet the county's judicial needs, almost certainly adding to the accumulation of criminal cases. The county residents will likely protest the state legislature and governor's office, demanding an increase of fully funded judicial positions.
Released violent crime suspects are likely to reoffend at a higher rate and for more severe crimes than non-violent suspects. Domestic violence offenders will likely harass their victims, almost certainly due to the termination of the victim's criminal protective order. Victims will unlikely be able to afford to relocate for their safety, thus will likely allow contact with their offender almost certainly out of financial necessity and the perception of safety. This contact will almost certainly cause extreme harm to victims and their families, very likely leading to a public safety crisis.
These dismissals will almost certainly lead victims to question the court system’s understanding of victim trauma, likely discouraging them from testifying almost certainly to avoid revictimization before and during the trial. Without victim testimony, the court will likely have insufficient evidence for a criminal conviction, likely leading the prosecutor to dismiss the case, thus likely reducing overall criminal accountability. This decrease will likely erode community trust in the court’s legitimacy and effectiveness, almost certainly leading to reduced future cooperation with prosecutors, police, and other community leaders.
[1] Synagogue Service by Wix images
[2] Threat to NJ synagogues 'mitigated' as FBI identifies 'source of threat', ABC7NY, November 2022, https://abc7ny.com/synagogue-threat-new-jersey-fbi/12416545/
[3] More than 500 criminal case dismissals countywide, Office of The District Attorney County of Riverside, November 2022, https://rivcoda.org/community-info/news-media-archives/more-than-500-criminal-case-dismissals-countywide