It must truly be exasperating for Urban American citizens. Radical activists tell citizens that young black men are targeted by racist police. Until racism is resolved, only the overthrow of the US government will satisfy their demands. From the podium in Urban America, political leaders and law enforcement officials ask that you not believe your lying eyes. The homicide rate and the unresolved homicide cases are rising. However, violent crime is not the problem. Gang Warfare is not the problem. The lack of confidence in law enforcement officials and the criminal justice system is not the problem. The problem is that we are not properly "prosecuting" violent crime in Urban America. We must change our philosophies to add "public health" to "community policing" which will reduce the homicide rate. We must get "millions of dollars" out of the Treasury doors and that will reduce the homicide rate. We must strengthen the gun laws so that criminals will only use baseball bats and law abiding citizens will never have access to the tools necessary to take-down a terrorist. It seems that the podiums in Urban America are as empty as the sense of hope that citizens have towards their government. The coveted role of manager is pursued when the City screams that it is not safe. The absence of leadership is glaring.Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
The War on Violent Crime in Urban America has a tremendous number of managers yet, is lacking sincere leadership. In Shomari Stone's NBC News4 story, "Five Shot Within Hour and a Half in SE D.C.", the obvious frustration is emitted in the proposals of men that have practiced institutional responses to violent crime that fit their ideological comfort zone.
"The violence in Southeast has to be stopped," ANC commissioner Anthony Muhammed told News4. "We need more resources for the young people in Ward 8."
Another ANC commissioner, Paul Trantham, said he's considering suggesting a curfew in southeast D.C.
District Crime Data at a Glance
Homicide Count As of September 16, 2015
This Year Last Year Percent Change
111 92 +18.0%
Homicide Count As of November 25, 2015
This Year Last Year Percent Change
150 92 +63.0%
Then, there is that safe cornerstone of crime fighting: curfew! Yeah, let's get all of the teenagers off the streets. Kenneth Adams, The Effectiveness of Juvenile Curfews at Crime Prevention, writes, "Overall, the weight of the scientific evidence, based on ten studies with weak to moderately rigorous designs, fails to support the argument that curfews reduce crime and criminal victimization". So, community activists should push for DC to implement such a law. Right? The Juvenile Curfew Act of 1995 (DC Code 2-1541 et. seq.) states that persons under the age of 17 cannot remain in or on a street, park or other outdoor public place, in a vehicle or on the premises of any establishment within the District of Columbia during curfew hours, unless they are involved in certain exempted activities. Passed in 1995, DC's curfew law was set up to protect the health and safety of young people and our communities. After the law was challenged in court, MPD stopped enforcement until the court decided whether the law was constitutional. In June 1999, the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found the law to be constitutional. The District began enforcing the law again in the fall of 1999. So how is that enforcement working?
The answer is very easy. Culprits don't feel any fear. They do not fear the citizens. They do not fear the politicians--legislative or executive. They do not fear your community proposals. They do not fear law enforcement or your judiciary. They certainly do not fear their victims. What have they to fear, you ask. Only themselves. This is a sign that Urban America is not safe. Where people lack safety, they do not worship, they do not live and they do not do business. So that you get the drift, understand this. Less tax revenue comes from a lack of safety. Less revenue means either raising taxes to make illegitimate promises or enforcing the law to secure the revenue. Maybe we need to poll if I'm right.
"Crime has become the biggest problem in Washington, say D.C. residents, far surpassing concerns about the economy and the quality of public schools for the first time in almost a decade, according to a new Washington Post poll."
Well maybe it's just a concern about Southeast DC? No. Criminals think alike no matter their geography.
"Despite a multitude of differences in their backgrounds and crime patterns, they are all alike in how they think. A gun-toting, uneducated criminal off the streets of southeast Washington, D.C. and a crooked Georgetown businessman are extremely similar in the way they view themselves and the world."
The instability of SE DC becomes the instability of the remaining City. The Price Paid May Be A Lost Election. The question is who is willing to pay the price to continue to manage violent crime rather than solve it.
You know I'm right!
DC Chief of Police Cathy L. Lanier testified before the DC Judiciary Committee on September 16, 2015. She spoke of the Major City Chiefs (MCC) survey of its members on Urban Violent Crime and advised:
• Three out of four of the cities that responded had seen increases in homicides this year and
about 60 percent reported an increase in non-fatal shootings.
• The shootings seem to be more lethal. Almost half of the cities reported crime scenes with
casings from multiple guns involved in the shootout, many with high capacity magazines.
• Almost half report an increase in gang-related and retaliatory violence. As one of my
colleagues said, homicide has become a means for conflict resolution among the criminally
involved.
• Synthetic drugs have not reached all cities yet, but 30 percent of the responding cities
reported an increase in violent crime in which the offender is under the influence of synthetic
drugs...
• We are all seeing people who shouldn’t be on the streets because they have a significant
violent history ending up back on the streets.
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