David Kennedy, director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has a fascinating analysis in today's Washington Post on rebounding U.S. crime rates under Republican rule. Back in those terrible Clinton years (ha), better known as the 1990s, crime rates throughout the United States plummeted. According to Kennedy:
Not long ago, the United States was declaring "mission accomplished" on crime: Homicide rates were plunging, the crack epidemic was over, the broken windows were fixed. Now, preliminary FBI statistics show that homicides rose nearly 5 percent in 2005, and news from around the country suggests that 2006 is looking worse.
Very interesting that, under the "tough on crime" Republicans like Bush and Allen, crime rates are rebounding fast. Why? According to Kennedy:
...the code of the street -- and the community disorganization and disenfranchisement on which it thrives -- has been helped along by law enforcement. Profligate arrests and incarcerations, many aimed at drugs, have destroyed the village in order to save it. As crime has dropped, zealous enforcement has continued. A staggering 2 million people are now incarcerated in the United States, and about 5 million are on probation and parole...
This enforcement breaks up families; it ruins the prospects of young people who now have little reason to finish school and take entry-level jobs, and of older people who find themselves virtually unemployable; it creates a street culture in which prison is normal and even valued; and it plays directly into community narratives that equate law enforcement and the white community with slaveholders and other historical oppressors. The "stop snitching" culture that recently made headlines has been brewing for decades, reflecting a conviction on the part of many that law enforcement is a racist enemy -- even though staying silent means protecting violent predators.
That's right, Republican "lock-em-all-up-and-throw-away-the-key," "destroy-the-community-in-order-to-save-it" policies have backfired, leading to decimated inner city neighborhoods and a rebound in the violent crime rate. Heckuva job. As if tha'ts all not bad enough, according to Kennedy:
...state and local officials feel abandoned by the federal government. While authorities talk about terrorism, people are dying on our streets.
All in all, a great success story (NOT!) for Republican policies towards crime. And yet ANOTHER example of how failure to address the root causes of a problem, but instead rely on an "enforcement-only" strategy, is doomed to fail. That, my friends, is the Republican way. No understanding of the problem, no vision of a workable solution. In America, just as in Iraq. "Mission accomplished?" No. And it won't be as long as the Bushes and Allens of the world are in power. It's time for a change, on this and so many other areas.
Lowell Feld is Netroots Coordinator for the Jim Webb for US Senate Campaign. The ideas expressed here belong to Lowell Feld alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Jim Webb, his advisors, staff, or supporters.
That's right, Republican "lock-em-all-up-and-throw-away-the-key," "destroy-the-community-in-order-to-save-it" policies have backfired, leading to decimated inner city neighborhoods and a rebound in the violent crime rate.
Gee, lock-em-al-up in Abu Ghraib, destroy Fallujah in order to save it, decimated neighborhoods in Baghdad, Ramadi, and elsewhere, has led to a rebound in IEDs, assassinations, disroder, rapes, murders, etc.
Does anyone besides me see the parallel? Applying force because you can often creates more problems than it solves.
To create a merciless society, show no mercy, no compassion.
In Virginia, George Allen abolished parole when he was Governor. He recently bragged about it before a meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police.
A few thoughts:
1. Crime is a national, state, regional, and local issue. As with most issues the federal position sets the tone, but it is ultimately at the local to state level that criminal issues need to be dealt with - defining and enforcing the laws and managing public programs to deal with pre and post criminal activity. To blame a particular person or party would not be fair.
2. That said, the federal government DOES need to play a more supportive role. But it is so completely focused on terrorism that it doesn't put forth the effort to deal with local crime. There are far more deaths due to crime than to terrorism. This isn't to say that we should forget about terrorism - the airline bombing plot is a pressing reminder. But the federal government does need to put much more effort into saving ALL American lives, not just the ones that are threatened by religious extremists.
3. And to one of the other points, much more does need to be done about crime prevention. The recent arrests of a group of young men for the muggings and sexual assults on the National Mall is a good example. These men admitted they were aimless and bored until they came up with the crime spree plan. An engaged society that provides meaningful activities for young men and women would go a long way toward addressing this sort of problem. It'll never stop all the crime, but certainly the investment of public funds and effort to give "bored" youth a better direction than the one they find on the street will reduce crime rates. For this particular point there has historically been resistance by (mostly) Republicans - so I would agree about placing blame for this one.
Bottom line for me - this is extremely complex, not easily solved, and blame not easily placed. But the simple fact that crime is rising is an indicator of failure, and failure ultimately rests on the shoulders of those in charge. So while I won't directy blame this on Bush (and company) I will say that these failures emphasize the need for a change of leadership. The new vision, energy, priorities that come with new leaders is what we need.
For those of us who are live and work in DC this one is especially frightening. I work for a property management company in DC and we have some properties in a few blighted areas of the city. The neglect in some of these areas is in itself criminal. Part of the blame rests with the communities--unstable family structures, kids raising kids--but in a lot of these areas there just aren't any opportunities--the federal government has turned its back on these communities. It's just another one of those shameful codas to the Bush/Allen era. It's easy to talk about "law and order" solutions--it's much harder to treat the root causes that are at work.
There are no easy answers. Unfortunately, rather than engaging a difficult problem in a serious way, the feds have simply turned their backs on the problem under the assumption that "someone else" will take care of this. So much for leadership.