In an op-ed, Jerry Ratcliffe, professor and chair of Temple's Criminal Justice Department, wrote that a "lack of investment in policing and crime deterrence" is behind the record-breaking homicide rate in Camden, N.J. "The decimation of the city's police force in recent years has removed patrolling police officers who significantly inhibit crime," Ratcliffe wrote. "The absence of active policing in crime hot spots allows drug dealers, prostitutes and gang members to operate with impunity. Temple's Center for Security and Crime Science recently conducted two experiments with Philadelphia police that confirmed this [relationship]."