Crime Monthly Nov 2025: Systemic Failures, Hoaxes, and Sleuthing Nov 2025
Dear Readers,
This week, I will undergo surgery to remove benign tumours associated with my genetic disease, which are causing pain and discomfort.
You can read more about my experience with neurofibromatosis here:
Back to our newsletter. This week, I share with you a surprising and interesting set of posts. They include hoaxes, systemic prison abuse, systemic failure to care for young offenders, and a series of wonderful objects.
Hoaxes and Hate Crimes: Zip Ties, Politics, and Body Modification
Reading this piece made me both angry and sad. Joni E. Johnston, Psy.D. does a wonderful job laying out this bizarre case and exploring current explanations for such crimes.1
Natalie Greene claimed she was the victim of a politically motivated hate crime. She was severely cut and hurt. She claimed she was attacked. The police investigated. She has been charged with making false statements. It seems she planned this, and police have unveiled evidence that she allegedly legally paid a body modification expert to make those cuts.
Johnston provides an impartial account of what is known and what is at stake. For me, false accusations are wasteful — the hours and resources dedicated to this would be better dedicated to other issues. On the other hand, such alleged crimes could help work out processes. Secondly, the investigator’s ability to determine that an alleged crime was a hoax suggests that sleuthing, at least sometimes, works.
Changing Views on Crime
Recently, I have been interested in perceptions of crime.2
In my historical work, we often distinguish actor categories from analytical categories. The former refers to what historical actors thought and how they categorised the world, as opposed to how we think.3 One of the strange insights that comes from this perspective is that belief, whether warranted or not, can shape behaviour.4
The incredible Jeff Asher has been posting about surveys that suggest Americans are concerned about crime, even if crime rates are actually decreasing. There, finally, seems to be a shift, and people are starting to change how they think about crime.
I wonder whether this shift will be attributed to those currently in power.
Failing Our Youth
Steven Teske, a retired Judge shares a passionate plea to reform how Georgia treats juvenile offenders. Teske argues that teenagers are not adults and thus merit carefully designed treatment that helps them and their community.
According to Teske, Georgia currently fails to live up to its promise. In contrast, Teske claims certain programs have succeeded in reducing recidivism.
Victorian Sleuthing In Ten Objects
I think objects provide an important entryway into understanding a historical period. This is a fascinating dive into the world of Victorian detectives and their sleuthing. Dr Angela Buckley describes ten objects that detectives used in Victorian England.
Victorian Sleuths used dogs, fingerprinting, lights and more. This is a lovely approach and allows readers to contextualise sleuthing in Victorian England.
Systemic Abuse in An American Prison
This New York Times article discusses systemic prison abuse at an American prison in Mississippi.
For years, guards beat prisoners off camera and encourage other inmates to join in. Those who join in are often known as trusties, and they are rewarded with better living conditions and other privileges. This highlights the importance of designing good systems and structures.
My surgery will be at Johns Hopkins. I flew to the US yesterday. It also happens to be Thanksgiving here. So thank you for reading, sharing, and engaging. I also wanted to thank the authors of these wonderful posts. There are many other posts that I could have chosen, but alas, here we are. Best.
We interviewed Joni E. Johnston, Psy.D. as part of our Beyond the Archives Series. Her work and motivations are laudable.
I admit this interest was mostly triggered by the wonderful Jeff Asher.
Discussing colonialism through the lens of epidemics and disease can reveal a lot about those events. However, the people who lived at that time did not have microbiological concepts. Thus, these would be analytical categories. In contrast, the way they spoke and understood disease would be actor categories.
For example, despite there being no evidence that vaccines cause autism, such a belief causes people to forgo vaccinations.
As with Dr Buckley above, I hope that your surgery is successful and uneventful. All the best, John.
Thanks Christian - I hope your surgery goes well and you make a quick recovery.