Is it really that simple? Was that working perfectly previous to the defund/BLM movement?
Based on the current increase in the crime rates, it was certainly working better.
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So you thought everything was great? If not, what improvements would you have suggested?
More broken windows type policing everywhere.
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That’s an awfully high bar for human actions to clear.
You know this is not a good-faith argument. Nothing works perfectly. But starting in the mid-1990s, we achieved a historic drop in the crime rate. Violent crime in New York fell to levels not seen in even the 1960s. Cities across the country reaped the benefit. And, perhaps most notably, countless thousands of young black men who would have been victims of homicide (largely at the hands of other young black men) in earlier, more dangerous times lived to see middle age and beyond.
Starting in 2014, and then accelerating dramatically with the 2020 riots and the “defund the police” movement, we saw a reversal of the drop in crime; some cities saw more than 50% increases in homicide in 2020 over 2019, and the trend toward more violence is continuing.
So cut the juvenile bullshit of “Oh, so it was perfect, was it?” It was a hell of a lot better than what we have now, especially for black people who live in high crime areas.
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Speaking of bad faith arguments…
I got a reasonably close look at Rittenhouse’s firearm. It appears to be an entirely stock low-end AR with an optic and sling attached. Any AR in the $600-$700 range looks like that when you buy it, sans optic.
This is something I’d expect an assault rifle owner like yourself to understand. Making an AR look like a hunting rifle would be a lot more expensive than a sling and rail mounted optic would be.
What model of assault rifle do you own, anyway?
If you are a gun owner you should really get to some NRA classes. You’ve expressed many incorrect ideas about guns, gun laws and self defense laws across many threads on this site.
Please, be a responsible gun owner. Educate yourself.
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The gun charge is dismissed, so the argument that he had an illegal gun/wasn’t legally allowed to have the gun is gone.
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Did the prosecutor really use a picture of Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse during his closing arguments?
I think Lionel Hutz had a stronger case against The Frying Dutchman’s so-called “All You Can Eat” offer.
I don’t agree that this was largely due to policing though. I think there is a good argument to be made that Roe V. Wade allowed future criminals to not exist.
Prior to 2014, were you in favor of police reform? Reform simply meaning to find ways to make PDs more effective, efficient, and equitable? I’d guess, yes.
How would you suggest doing that with the same or less budget? And long term address this country’s outsized violent crime rate (for a developed nation)?
Combine that with the fact that many PDs have racist and/or violent pasts (some not so distant), and you get pushback to take the power away from PDs, and give it back to the people to solve the crime problem for themselves.
Another fun argument is that crime rates dropped from locking up, with long 20+ year sentences, soooo many people per the drug laws of the 1980s and early 90s, and now many of those folks have been getting out in recent years and they only know criminals and prison life.
Recidivism is a really big problem.
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@Californiagrown
What do you think is causing the upturn (last year or two) in violent crime?
I don’t know that we need to do it with “the same or less budget.” If you want competent, professional police officers, you need to pay for them. As far as addressing this country’s violent crime, again, we know what works: Put police on the streets and enforce the laws we have on the books. There is also good evidence for the effectiveness of “broken windows” policing as used in New York.
I don’t know what to make of your last statement about giving power “back to the people to solve the crime problem for themselves.” Are you suggesting more folks like Kyle Rittenhouse are the answer?
Mostly the combination of pandemic (loss of jobs and increased free time, lack of school and activities keeping folks busy), the weird apocalyptic summer 2020 vibe of the world ending virus and crazy political turmoil and riots making people just not give a fuck and feel empowered to reject authority (whether it was an election, a law, a health mandate, or a riot).
I have no doubt that criminals also noticed the likely lower morale, enforcement and response from local PDs. But those nutty petty crime condoning laws only happened in a few areas and do not come close to explaining the rise in crime.
These folks are middle-aged now. They are not the ones driving our current crime wave. I think we can agree that long prison sentences for non-violent drug offenses were probably a mistake, but keep in mind that the vast majority of people in our prisons are not there for drug offenses. They’re in prison for fairly serious violent crime.
Despite what the fed wants us to believe, money does need to come from somewhere. And any public organization as large as a big city PD has fat that can be trimmed… Make the PD leaner, and bigger, not fatter and bloated.
The “broken windows” style comes at the cost of civil rights and very likely profiling. Constitutional issues with it, not to mention doesn’t cure the sickness, just treats the symptoms.
No, power back to the people in that context means the community relies on community created and funded programs to prevent the creation of criminals, and prevention of crime. Social programs to reduce folks seeing crime as a good option compared to their other options etc, building community so people don’t attack their own.money to better fund these programs comes from… Previous PD budgets.
How many of them started their rap sheet as just drugs though? And then they got worse from there.
Recidivism is a huge problem. Imagine if we could break the cycle of young criminals returning to jail and illegal activities because that’s all they know, the only way to make a “living”, and no one will hire them. Going to jail is a bad mistake and cause a turning point in their life, instead of something normal to do, only bad cause they got caught, and fully expected again.
It isn’t. He wasn’t legally allowed to have a gun. Dismissing the charge doesn’t mean he legally possessed the gun.
Like the clown who gave Kyle a gun.