SCOTUS Homelessness Camping Case | PPIC on Retail Theft and Robbery Rates in California | Black American Folk Musician Jake Blount at The Sofia

Supreme Court to hear a case that could change homeless encampment sweeps. Also, the PPIC discusses retail theft and robbery rates. Finally, Black American folk musician Jake Blount to perform at The Sofia.

SCOTUS Homelessness Camping Case
Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could change existing restrictions on criminalizing homelessness and sweeping encampments in western states - including California.  CalMatters Homelessness Reporter Marisa Kendall breaks down both the new case and current precedent, and what the high court’s ruling could mean for both cities and people who are unhoused across the state.

CalMatters is a nonprofit newsroom that is a content sharing partner with public media stations across the state.

PPIC on Retail Theft and Robbery Rates in California
Since the pandemic, California’s crime rate has dominated news headlines– from a reported increase in violent crime, retail theft and robberies in many of the state’s largest counties. But when you look at the data, gauging that increase – or whether there is even an increase at all – largely depends on what year you use as a comparison. Overall, although violent crime has trended upward in recent years, it still remains drastically below the peak in the 1990s. And there is a similar caveat with retail thefts and robberies. Shoplifting, commercial burglaries and robberies in California have jumped since 2020. But when you narrow in on the 15 largest counties, some have actually experienced a drop during the same time period. So it’s complicated. Magnus Lofstrom is the Policy Director of Criminal Justice as well as a Senior Fellow at the PPIC, and joins us with more about the nuance within crime data.
Black American Folk Musician Jake Blount at The Sofia

is an Afrofuturist folk musician and ethnomusicology PhD student who is a scholar of Black American folk with a focus on the profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined roots music and Americana. Jake will be performing at The Sofia on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. You can watch his NPR “Tiny Desk” performance here.