Interesting article . I ask the police chief of Chicago to explain why does Chicago you have more homicides than NYC ? NYC has three times population of and according to one of your local newspapers you have more police officers per 100, 000 population.
5
Hard to believe you can talk prison reform without charting the $ involved, where they come from, who they go to.
2
There's an old saying... If it works, don't fix it. This nugget of wisdom heavily implies a corollary that we too often ignore at our own peril... If it doesn't work, you've got to fix it!
And to those invoking the name Tyrone Howard, you are engaging in a cynical and disingenuous appeal to emotion. He is not the model for what is being proposed by this sober and knowledgeable coalition of law enforcement professionals.
And to those invoking the name Tyrone Howard, you are engaging in a cynical and disingenuous appeal to emotion. He is not the model for what is being proposed by this sober and knowledgeable coalition of law enforcement professionals.
What constitutes non-violent crime . Auto-Theft , breaking and entering, vandalism, selling of drugs can all be considered non-violent crimes. It is ironic that the same paper that has called for bankers and tax avoiders to be given prison time would call for the release of non-violent criminals. I would question the NYT description of the "Broken Window" theory of policing as "deeply problematic" as wrong. NYC has gone from a high of over 2245 murders in 1990 to record low of 328 last year. One reason for NYC revival has been the dramatic decline in crime. And one reason for that has been the use of "The Broken Window" theory of policing. The NYT should be careful they don't end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Or you could see another large increase in violent crime.
6
This editorial is an outrage. I believe that law enforcement would like to see, but to reduce crime by reducing incarceration is nonsense. It's one thing to talk about the person in jail for smoking a joint. But that stopped happening years ago, if there are some still in jail for that, release them
However, shop lifting, vandalism, robbery, home invasions, etc. are all crimes that require some kind of punishment. If the consensus is that a kid caught shoplifting for the first time is given probation and required to return the stolen item, great. If the idea is that smash and grab gangs get sent to seminars to teach them it's not nice to break into someone's store and steal everything, well... maybe the first time, but not the second. And 100% will do it a second time.
We have this nonsense in ATL. If you're a gang member that assaults someone or robs someone, you get to go to seminars. Then when you're arrested again, you go to more seminars. The prisons release everyone - even murderers and rapists, well before their full time is served. And then, guess what? They do it again!!!!!
Countless criminals in jail are repeat offenders. And they keep getting out and commit crimes against the law abiding citizens who must pay for all of this nonsense through taxes.
Repeat offenders should go to a prison that forces them to work. Produce something to pay for their transgressions. No personal pay - must do it to atone for crimes; don't care what color you are.
However, shop lifting, vandalism, robbery, home invasions, etc. are all crimes that require some kind of punishment. If the consensus is that a kid caught shoplifting for the first time is given probation and required to return the stolen item, great. If the idea is that smash and grab gangs get sent to seminars to teach them it's not nice to break into someone's store and steal everything, well... maybe the first time, but not the second. And 100% will do it a second time.
We have this nonsense in ATL. If you're a gang member that assaults someone or robs someone, you get to go to seminars. Then when you're arrested again, you go to more seminars. The prisons release everyone - even murderers and rapists, well before their full time is served. And then, guess what? They do it again!!!!!
Countless criminals in jail are repeat offenders. And they keep getting out and commit crimes against the law abiding citizens who must pay for all of this nonsense through taxes.
Repeat offenders should go to a prison that forces them to work. Produce something to pay for their transgressions. No personal pay - must do it to atone for crimes; don't care what color you are.
4
The criminal justice system is too big a business to reform. An analogy is single payer health care. People are not versed in what really happens in something like inhaling marijuana. You might not go to jail but you are looking at a lifetime sentence of onerous paper work. The people involved in this business want power and don't care about "justice".
2
We don’t have good treatment for habitual substance abuse and severe mental illness in America, and maybe no one does, and prison becomes the home of unfortunate people. I wish it were as simple as sending someone to rehab for a few months or giving them a pill. They do not belong in prison, but we are not sure where they belong. Families do what we can.
5
No, maybe some big city cops and prosecutors want it for political reasons, I can't believe small town and rural police want any more criminals to deal with than they already have. 130 out of tens of thousands is really a pretty small sampling.
And don't most law enforcement groups favor current gun laws? I believe they do.
And don't most law enforcement groups favor current gun laws? I believe they do.
An impressive array of law enforcement officials; however, very few of them have the authority or the power to arrest the 1% robber barons who rig the foreign exchange market, take ownership of sport-team stadiums funded with taxpayer dollars or sell the armed services a potpourri of goods that work ineffectively or don't at all. The real problem with the criminal justice system my friends is that it ensnares the proletariat for rinky-dink charges (both real and imagined) while the bourgeoisie classes have immunity from arrest!
1
"The group is focusing on three broad areas of reform, all of which have been successful in cities and states around the country."
What is the measure of success? Reduce the number of blacks, who vote em masse for these big city mayors who appoint these big city police commissioners?
That is not success for the cops on the street who overwhelmingly oppose this.
That is not success to the victims of crime, including police officers, who have seen a reversal of a multi decade long decline in crime, in the very cities like Baltimore, St Louis, Cleveland, that are pushing for this.
Success would be if the long term rate of decline in crime *** accelerated *** in the cities that started to release people from prison. Where is this evidence of success? Where is the evidence that the sharply decreased numbers of arrest in Baltimore led to fewer murders (it was the opposite, wasn't it)?
What is the measure of success? Reduce the number of blacks, who vote em masse for these big city mayors who appoint these big city police commissioners?
That is not success for the cops on the street who overwhelmingly oppose this.
That is not success to the victims of crime, including police officers, who have seen a reversal of a multi decade long decline in crime, in the very cities like Baltimore, St Louis, Cleveland, that are pushing for this.
Success would be if the long term rate of decline in crime *** accelerated *** in the cities that started to release people from prison. Where is this evidence of success? Where is the evidence that the sharply decreased numbers of arrest in Baltimore led to fewer murders (it was the opposite, wasn't it)?
3
It should be obvious to any decent thinking person the deeply ulterior motive prosecutors and police have in wanting any reform: liability. Its totally ironic that liberals who support civil rights and equality are the one's leading the charge of this blatant power grab. But then again, the editorial board came out in support of the invasion of Iraq, reveled in the violence of the civil rights and waited to report on watergate.
The sentencing guidelines need immediate reforms. Sentence Review Boards may be constituted in every state which may be given powers to commute life term of a convict after he has undergone actual jail sentence of 14 years. In India this provision has got legal sanction under sec.433A of Criminal Procedure Code. Generally a life convict is released in 15-16 years. Awarding jail sentences of 40-50 years as in US are highly unwarranted.
There is a myth out there that lots of criminals are there because they need drug treatment. That is an out and out lie. The truth is that in this day and age, no one goes to prison for the first time for almost any offence except rape and murder. In other words, you must of had many charges that were previously plea bargained, reduced, dismissed, or put in drug treatment as an excuse to clear the prison system, without any idea whether your innate ability to have any rehabilitation to your nature even exists. There is a biological root to crime, and the male animal is by nature with lots of testosterone to begin with and then a lack of affective parenting which is the frosting on the cake towards criminal behavior. The recidivism rate after a year is over 80%! The fact about drug treatment is that most are in and out their whole life, and then because we are talking heroin in today's world which is almost impossible to ever be free from as its addiction is the worst of all substances. That is why heroin addicts usually die, but take everyone they know down the tube with them emotionally. Live with or know drug addicts, and there is a sadness to the energy and goodwill that is expended to them when you realize hey were born with addictive personalities, and you know few will ever choose to give up drugs in the long run, and if you are a friend or relative, substance abuse will destroy you often sooner than the drug addict, and they will burn through your resources.
4
I would advocate that one change that might help would be eliminating the prosecutors office as a career. Elected DAs should have a term limit (not to exceed 4 years total) and no lawyer should be allowed to work in a prosecutors office more than 8 years.
In my opinion a big part of the problem is that sending people to prison and the accumulated authority that comes with it becomes a career motivation. This has all kinds of negative consequences for civil liberties, opportunity for corruption and collusion with law enforcement.
In my opinion a big part of the problem is that sending people to prison and the accumulated authority that comes with it becomes a career motivation. This has all kinds of negative consequences for civil liberties, opportunity for corruption and collusion with law enforcement.
8
The number one thing we can do to reduce crime is to end the destructive "War On Drugs." The amount of money wasted on fighting illegal narcotics is obscene and the results minimal.
The plight of people in Mexico, Central America, South America, Afghanistan,and South East Asia is sickening. The deaths of innocent people caught up in a battle between drug cartels, gangs and the law is crazy. Mexico was on the brink of immolation just a few years ago as drug cartels fueled gangs to kill indiscriminately and also target anyone opposing the cartels in law or in the media.
The saddest part however, is the toll taken on the lives of families when their children decide to use drugs to escape the humdrum of their lives risking their lives to find a few hours of narcotic bliss.
Decriminalize drug use, regulate marijuana as Colorado and Washington are doing, stop putting our children in jail for non-violent crimes, stop branding them felons so they cannot work, get loans, go to school.
How do we hurt organized crime? We decriminalize and allow American companies to set up within regulated markets and supply narcotics to those that need them.
Controversial? Yes. Easy? No.
Necessary? Indubitably.
The plight of people in Mexico, Central America, South America, Afghanistan,and South East Asia is sickening. The deaths of innocent people caught up in a battle between drug cartels, gangs and the law is crazy. Mexico was on the brink of immolation just a few years ago as drug cartels fueled gangs to kill indiscriminately and also target anyone opposing the cartels in law or in the media.
The saddest part however, is the toll taken on the lives of families when their children decide to use drugs to escape the humdrum of their lives risking their lives to find a few hours of narcotic bliss.
Decriminalize drug use, regulate marijuana as Colorado and Washington are doing, stop putting our children in jail for non-violent crimes, stop branding them felons so they cannot work, get loans, go to school.
How do we hurt organized crime? We decriminalize and allow American companies to set up within regulated markets and supply narcotics to those that need them.
Controversial? Yes. Easy? No.
Necessary? Indubitably.
10
The first proposition, more alternatives for prosecution is essential. The win or lose mentality, the competitive nature of an arrest and a trial, often leads to corruption. The game needs changing so prosecuting attorneys are not just valued for getting that "win" and police are not valued for number of arrests. Careers are built on this winning, not on what is right and fair. It's only natural for a professional to seek the route that gets him or her more success. Somehow we need to give incentive, provide accepted and praised practical options toward rehabilitation, define winning in a different and diverse way, not just the back-slapping for draconian incarceration.
3
We need to get black men out of jail and into jobs. They can then support themselves and their families. This would relieve the burden that mass incarceration puts on society.
Obama should be concerned about providing factory jobs for these guys, to give them a chance at a decent life... instead of sneaking along trade deals that undercut the poor for the benefit of the rich.
Obama should be concerned about providing factory jobs for these guys, to give them a chance at a decent life... instead of sneaking along trade deals that undercut the poor for the benefit of the rich.
2
Like what jobs exactly? Programming? Database administration? Medicine? Factory jobs? Last time I worked a factory job in a large razorblade / shaving creme / deoderant company, I was loading trucks with guys that had their masters degrees.
The FIRST step is not to allow kids to skip school, fail in school, substitute sports for schoolwork. Fix those things, then come back and cry about the rich.
The FIRST step is not to allow kids to skip school, fail in school, substitute sports for schoolwork. Fix those things, then come back and cry about the rich.
10
You cut the message short and did not delve into the why behind the reluctance of many district attorneys and law enforcement offices to engage in any real reform. Unfortunately money is a driving force -- crime fighting and security have become multi million dollar industries, including the creation of jobs, businesses and the forfeiture laws related to proceeds from criminal enterprise have enriched the coffers of many DA offices and police departments. For career prosecutors, winning and money trump any analysis of the social consequences of the use of the criminal justice system to disenfranchise the underclass, who are disproportionately of color. Somehow the message has been lost that the primary duty of all prosecuting attorneys is NOT to convict, but to see that justice is done. It is so refreshing that there is a group of credible leaders who have been in the trenches now acknowledging the flaws of aggressive tactics and that we need to change our approach to fighting crime. The world continues to change expotentially and our approach to law enforcement, imprisonment and recidivism has lagged behind the changes around us. I applaud the police chiefs who have spoken out and I hope there are other members of the law enforcement community who have the courage add their voice in the quest to implement change
5
It's harder to find decent paying, or sometimes any work without a good or specialized education. Everyone who wants to work should have the chance. It's a win for everyone when people work. We need to use our imagination to find more work for people to do. No one in government or the for profit sector focuses on this, and it shows.
What the NYT (and Democrats) is an affirmative action program for criminals. Horrifying.
No where here do you mention that the incarceration increases since the 80s have dropped crime, particularly the murder of blacks, down wonderfully. That's because illegal drugs are a violent industry so of course enforcing it has cut violence dramatically.
The NYT and Democrats want the USA to be a giant Detroit ... and then blame Republicans and capitalism for the misery they've created.
No!
No where here do you mention that the incarceration increases since the 80s have dropped crime, particularly the murder of blacks, down wonderfully. That's because illegal drugs are a violent industry so of course enforcing it has cut violence dramatically.
The NYT and Democrats want the USA to be a giant Detroit ... and then blame Republicans and capitalism for the misery they've created.
No!
5
You mean, Why A FEW Police Want Prison Reform otherwise we are talking about people who see themselves as apart from their communities. A group who identify as brothers in arms. A group who see their themselves as them and us. The editorial should have read, Police finally acknowledge that the nation has become aware of the cop problem. Starting with the fact that police routinely kill people completely unnecessarily and get away with it 99% of the time. Police brutalize people completely unnecessarily and get away with it 99% of the time. Police intimidate and bully people and get away with it 99% of the time. How long before we acknowledge too many people are cops who should not be cops? And while we are at it lets talk about district attorneys who care not a wit about justice but only want to advance their careers via "putting bad people away" guilty or not. Never mind legal protections under the Bill of Rights and the constitution. It is OK to break the law to enforce the law as long as you don't get caught. The old truism that the main difference between the police and the criminals is the uniform is unfortunately often true. But what is more unfortunate is that in spite of the overwhelming evidence people in privileged positions in our communities will not or cannot see the truth clearly, we have a cop problem. If New York's police and power elite had any courage at all they would have ousted the police union leader long ago.
2
Many defendants understand that arrest and conviction is a game that they play with cops. Those defendants are "frequent flyers" but are not dangerous. The dangerous ones are the violent criminals who will kill a cop to prevent going to jail.
Legalize most drugs. PUT THE violent offenders in prison for hard time.
Save the cops.
And oh yeah, put those drunk drivers in jail. They are extremely dangerous and drive drunk all the time
Legalize most drugs. PUT THE violent offenders in prison for hard time.
Save the cops.
And oh yeah, put those drunk drivers in jail. They are extremely dangerous and drive drunk all the time
Police are a sign of a failed society. Heroic, to be sure, but we cannot continue to throw cops at the problem of Capital Anarchy.
Our society needs to alleviate the problems that encourage have-nots from breaking the law. Social Democracy is the only answer. Plow profits back into the business, not into personal wealth and security from the sausage grinder the have-nots are subjected to.
Take away hunger and health care needs and fewer people will steal, and those people will begin to help society, which will require fewer police -- and therefore fewer police will have to put themselves in harm's way to protect us.
Fewer heroes is a good thing.
Our society needs to alleviate the problems that encourage have-nots from breaking the law. Social Democracy is the only answer. Plow profits back into the business, not into personal wealth and security from the sausage grinder the have-nots are subjected to.
Take away hunger and health care needs and fewer people will steal, and those people will begin to help society, which will require fewer police -- and therefore fewer police will have to put themselves in harm's way to protect us.
Fewer heroes is a good thing.
16
your hypothesis is completely untrue. "poor" people in nyc do not suffer hunger and they walk around in $100 pair of sneakers while still committing crimes and mayhem. health care is free for the poor in nyc and yet they commit felony crimes in disproportionate numbers.
6
Unfortunately the policies that cause these inhuman acts were originally written with the help of Joe Biden and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994 The bill was supported by and lobbied for Hillary Clinton. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Also we democrats can thank President Clinton for disabling our social welfare program that provided grants to familes in need and then we got NAFTA which was one of the biggest job transfer bills in the history of our nation. What does a poorly educated person do who has very few skills and little hopes of finding a job? Yes they steal, rob, etc. Democrats and republicans are responsible or are we the silent voters responsible?
1
Police are a sign that at any one time, that 1% to 2% of society believes in a criminal lifestyle. Put them inprison, and the crime rates drop dramaticly.
2
This is self-gratifying nonsense.
These men, and their colleagues lead departments that condone the murder of innocent people in the street. That use military tactics and equipment to enforce code violations. They regularly beat civilians almost to death. Withhold evidence that is favorable to the defendant. Who fear for their lives so much, they shoot people who are running away from them in the back and argue it's justifiable–and more times than not the police agency they work for and the courts condone this cowardice.
The biggest reason this will not happen is that cops are bureaucrats. And NO bureaucrat, voluntarily, gives up their authority. No bureaucrat will ever give up any part of his empire. To me, it looks like the police are trying to expand their empires to summary execution and/or corporal punishment.
This will never happen, if only because most police persons are not trained or have any interest in acting in a manner consistent with the law and constitution. If beating people to a blood pulp or shooting is your only way to deal with the public, then you aren't smart enough change to a more measured response.
These men, and their colleagues lead departments that condone the murder of innocent people in the street. That use military tactics and equipment to enforce code violations. They regularly beat civilians almost to death. Withhold evidence that is favorable to the defendant. Who fear for their lives so much, they shoot people who are running away from them in the back and argue it's justifiable–and more times than not the police agency they work for and the courts condone this cowardice.
The biggest reason this will not happen is that cops are bureaucrats. And NO bureaucrat, voluntarily, gives up their authority. No bureaucrat will ever give up any part of his empire. To me, it looks like the police are trying to expand their empires to summary execution and/or corporal punishment.
This will never happen, if only because most police persons are not trained or have any interest in acting in a manner consistent with the law and constitution. If beating people to a blood pulp or shooting is your only way to deal with the public, then you aren't smart enough change to a more measured response.
3
Cops condone murder? Perhaps you are related to Mayor de Blasio?
Prison reform- putting a band-aid on an arterial bleed. I suspect there are hundreds of thousands more Americans living freely in our communities who should also be in prison. And the great majority of people in prison do belong there- they will usually return to prison once they are released.
The U.S. is very different from Europe. We have a great deal of freedom, a long history of slavery, a love affair with guns and violence, a belief in social Darwinism, and an essentially minority third-world country living within a majority first-world country. We have a very dynamic country but unfortunately a lot of criminality comes with this territory. Unless we dramatically change our culture (no easy task) we will continue to live with high rates of violent crime. I wouldn't close down the prisons just yet.
The U.S. is very different from Europe. We have a great deal of freedom, a long history of slavery, a love affair with guns and violence, a belief in social Darwinism, and an essentially minority third-world country living within a majority first-world country. We have a very dynamic country but unfortunately a lot of criminality comes with this territory. Unless we dramatically change our culture (no easy task) we will continue to live with high rates of violent crime. I wouldn't close down the prisons just yet.
5
If police can be trusted with reform, why can't criminals or priests? Isn't it obvious that the police and prosecutors want 'reform' because it only further frees them from obligations for due process? What a garbage world we live in if pundits are even too afraid to question the god-given authority of a neighborhood cop.
2
We have seen irrational inhumane solutions to a problem that our society causes in the 1st place with destructive policies on jobs, education, drug treatment, for profit-prisons, biased policing, and racial apartheid. A formula leading to a predictable result.
The 1st step....Remove millions of jobs and factories and send them to Asia. Reduce the number of apprenticeships and oppose unions. That's an essential to remove means of a decent living. Then underfund education and allow the racial segregation ruled against by Brown in 1954.
Then young people see their peers without decent jobs or any jobs, with no alternatives, and these become a role model or norm for many.
Then a Democrat, Clinton expands prisons. Elected judges and politicians run on tough on crime platforms to win votes. Avoid drug treatment, but increase sentences for low level drug crimes, and define crime to increase prison time. Deprive families of support since their breadwinner is in prison. Ex offenders can't find jobs, or get assistance or even vote.
Then don't hold police accountable for abusive policing. Allow police and prison guard unions to defend brutality. It all works like a charm for the result we see, extreme compared to other nations.
To remedy, all factors have to be taken into account. If not, more crime and ruined lives. Then the law and order freaks will say i told you so. That's the pattern--these trends all happen by arrangement, not accident.
The 1st step....Remove millions of jobs and factories and send them to Asia. Reduce the number of apprenticeships and oppose unions. That's an essential to remove means of a decent living. Then underfund education and allow the racial segregation ruled against by Brown in 1954.
Then young people see their peers without decent jobs or any jobs, with no alternatives, and these become a role model or norm for many.
Then a Democrat, Clinton expands prisons. Elected judges and politicians run on tough on crime platforms to win votes. Avoid drug treatment, but increase sentences for low level drug crimes, and define crime to increase prison time. Deprive families of support since their breadwinner is in prison. Ex offenders can't find jobs, or get assistance or even vote.
Then don't hold police accountable for abusive policing. Allow police and prison guard unions to defend brutality. It all works like a charm for the result we see, extreme compared to other nations.
To remedy, all factors have to be taken into account. If not, more crime and ruined lives. Then the law and order freaks will say i told you so. That's the pattern--these trends all happen by arrangement, not accident.
There was a time not long ago when police officers would use some discretion before rung a young persons life. If caught with a little cannabis most cops would just lecture you, scare you but eventually let you go. Now we have police treating everyone like violent criminals. We allow restaurants and bars to serve alcohol legally, and virtually everyone drives home breaking the law. Why the hypocrisy? How many police drive home drunk?
2
Agreed.
Cops, Lawyers and Judges are perfectly OKAY with bars, inns and taverns being allowed to have parking lots.
Our society seeks profit in all things, instead of in the correct things.
Cops do what they're instructed and trained to do. Follow the money. It's the Lawyers and City Council members who DO NOTHING. The cops are just doing their jobs.
Cops, Lawyers and Judges are perfectly OKAY with bars, inns and taverns being allowed to have parking lots.
Our society seeks profit in all things, instead of in the correct things.
Cops do what they're instructed and trained to do. Follow the money. It's the Lawyers and City Council members who DO NOTHING. The cops are just doing their jobs.
2 brothers in Calvaras County in California shot and killed 3 people for trying to steal marijuana from a medical marijuana farm? Can you indicate where the police had anything to do with that?
1
We need to end privatization as soon as possible. Tehn we need to stop another war, a word we use too frequently:the war on drugs.
A great initiative to check crime by reducing incarceration rather increasing prison populations, everything proposed by these police and security experts make sense.
Prevention of crime can play big role in reducing crime and prison population than dealing with crime and its aftermath. It starts from school, more resources in schools to help young minds that show signs of criminal behavior later in life, family support, providing opportunities to earn enough to have food at the table for parents. Social justice, community interaction with law enforcement, taking everybody on board in bad neighborhoods in decision-making, likes funding for schools.
Drug prevention, legalizing Marijuana can help, to reduce hard drug use, early intervention in drug use and rehabilitation services for hard-core addicts would help to curtail repeat minor drug related offences and incarceration.
Training for police officers to make sure appropriate level and intensity of force is used, “shoot to kill” and that mentality have divided USA in terms of race relations.
Its’ a great country of great people, can find innovative ways to reduce prison population by giving in their hands books at an early age and tools at later age to make a decent living and be taxpayers., instead of guns an ending up in prisons.
Prevention of crime can play big role in reducing crime and prison population than dealing with crime and its aftermath. It starts from school, more resources in schools to help young minds that show signs of criminal behavior later in life, family support, providing opportunities to earn enough to have food at the table for parents. Social justice, community interaction with law enforcement, taking everybody on board in bad neighborhoods in decision-making, likes funding for schools.
Drug prevention, legalizing Marijuana can help, to reduce hard drug use, early intervention in drug use and rehabilitation services for hard-core addicts would help to curtail repeat minor drug related offences and incarceration.
Training for police officers to make sure appropriate level and intensity of force is used, “shoot to kill” and that mentality have divided USA in terms of race relations.
Its’ a great country of great people, can find innovative ways to reduce prison population by giving in their hands books at an early age and tools at later age to make a decent living and be taxpayers., instead of guns an ending up in prisons.
The real problem with our CJ system is the prosecution net is designed to capture anything and everything. At the same time, our incarceration policy is inconsistent and flexible enough to release anything and everything. This is just another bureaucratic fiasco by underfunded state and local government agencies who are not talking or collaborating with each other. There are no stop measures, nobody watching the front or back end of operations- yet somehow we find the revenue and resources to perpetually incarcerate over 2.2 million people!
The solution is simple. Lock up the bad ones and release the good ones. Do I have to sit down with every one of these people and determine who should stay and who should go- I have to I will! For crying out loud- If I can do it, then certainly a few hundred corrections officers can do the same.
The solution is simple. Lock up the bad ones and release the good ones. Do I have to sit down with every one of these people and determine who should stay and who should go- I have to I will! For crying out loud- If I can do it, then certainly a few hundred corrections officers can do the same.
4
Not really the "good ones", Aaron. Rather, they are the not so bad ones who are not dangerous to society. And I agree, our sentencing and incarceration policies have to change. As should the laws as to what is a misdemeanor as opposed to a felony.
Interesting timing for this opinion piece. New York City is mourning the tragic murder Officer Randolph Holder by Tyrone Howard. Tyrone Howard should have been in prison and now a heroic black policeman is dead (aside - I guess black lives don't matter if it is a black police officer).
Tyrone Howard had 28 prior arrests, including a 2009 shooting that wounded an 11-year-old boy and a 77-year-old man. He was a suspect in a Sept. 1 shooting on the same street as Tuesday’s incident. And he’d been busted last October for selling drugs in the East River projects. Since he’d done two stints in state prison, prosecutors called for six years behind bars.
Instead, two Manhattan judges — Edward McLaughlin and Patricia Nunez — in May signed off on “drug diversion,” leaving Howard on the street.
McLaughlin on Wednesday insisted, “You cannot avoid tragedy,” and claimed he hadn’t known about Howard’s 2009 shooting arrest.
Hmm. Other judges did better: Howard was denied diversion after a 2011 arrest.
And you don’t have to encourage tragedy.
This is a caution against taking decriminalization too far. “Drug diversion” and such reforms have their place; society can win if fewer low-level offenders wind up in prison.
But every judge has a duty to take a hard, careful look at a defendant’s entire history before opting for “diversion.” If it’s not clear, ask the prosecution why it wants to throw the book.
Tyrone Howard had 28 prior arrests, including a 2009 shooting that wounded an 11-year-old boy and a 77-year-old man. He was a suspect in a Sept. 1 shooting on the same street as Tuesday’s incident. And he’d been busted last October for selling drugs in the East River projects. Since he’d done two stints in state prison, prosecutors called for six years behind bars.
Instead, two Manhattan judges — Edward McLaughlin and Patricia Nunez — in May signed off on “drug diversion,” leaving Howard on the street.
McLaughlin on Wednesday insisted, “You cannot avoid tragedy,” and claimed he hadn’t known about Howard’s 2009 shooting arrest.
Hmm. Other judges did better: Howard was denied diversion after a 2011 arrest.
And you don’t have to encourage tragedy.
This is a caution against taking decriminalization too far. “Drug diversion” and such reforms have their place; society can win if fewer low-level offenders wind up in prison.
But every judge has a duty to take a hard, careful look at a defendant’s entire history before opting for “diversion.” If it’s not clear, ask the prosecution why it wants to throw the book.
13
I don't think the proponents here (myself included) could argue that Tyrone Howard was not a danger to society, and never should have been back out on the streets. That does not negate the fact however, that we are locking up far too many people for no good reason.
1
I nominate nyalman1 for Mayor.
God Bless You for writing the Truth about our corrupt dysfunctional National Prison System and your advocacy for "broad areas of reform". Fiat Lux ("Let there be Light") and untangle the Hatred into Heart. "This Land belongs to you and me." We the People"...Thank You New York Times Editorial Board...
1
There seems to be a disconnect between the story of "overly harsh sentences" and reality. I read the Baltimore Sun every day and am constantly shocked by the light sentences received by Baltimore's criminals. A man wanted for a recent murder just got out of jail after serving less than two years for armed robbery. A man was recently arrested for stabbing 5 people in a bar after serving a couple years for trying to kill a man who attempted to break up a fight by sticking a knife several inches into his gut. Freddie Gray was arrested 20+ times. How much jail time did he serve? Horrible crimes constantly get pled down to lesser charges which carry little jail time.
I'm all for changing a broken penal system that in many ways does more harm than good: increases criminality, ruins the chances of rehabilitation/productive work b/c of background checks, ignores the problems of the mentally ill, etc. But the problem seems to cut both ways.
I'm all for changing a broken penal system that in many ways does more harm than good: increases criminality, ruins the chances of rehabilitation/productive work b/c of background checks, ignores the problems of the mentally ill, etc. But the problem seems to cut both ways.
13
What if we expanded court-ordered community service as an alternative to our current system of shipping offenders to for-profit prisons hours away from their communities?
2
How much can the taxpayers afford to pay to operate the criminal justice system?
3
I know many police officers, and not once did any of them said they wanted criminals they arrested and actually were sentenced to jail to spend less time in jail or be released from jail early.
Quite the contrary. They are incredibly frustrated about arresting the same people over and over again, and see them smirk at them next week when they are already back on the street.
How many more times do we need to see criminals with a robbery juvenile record and 23 arrests as an adult, to continue to prey on citizens with impunity, until they shoot a police officer in the heat at point blank range?
Look at the crime/murder rate in Baltimore and St Louis for a hint of what happens when aggressive policing and prosecution lets off even a tiny bit.
The NYT, Obama, Holder, et al, are pursuing a dangerous agenda. Releasing more black criminals from jail and sending fewer of them to jail, will result in one thing and one thing only. A rise in crime and murder. And most of the victims will be other black men.
Quite the contrary. They are incredibly frustrated about arresting the same people over and over again, and see them smirk at them next week when they are already back on the street.
How many more times do we need to see criminals with a robbery juvenile record and 23 arrests as an adult, to continue to prey on citizens with impunity, until they shoot a police officer in the heat at point blank range?
Look at the crime/murder rate in Baltimore and St Louis for a hint of what happens when aggressive policing and prosecution lets off even a tiny bit.
The NYT, Obama, Holder, et al, are pursuing a dangerous agenda. Releasing more black criminals from jail and sending fewer of them to jail, will result in one thing and one thing only. A rise in crime and murder. And most of the victims will be other black men.
17
baron...well, the solution is obvious then...how about life sentence for all crimes? Then they wouldn't ever get out, to smirk at cops (the nerve) and do more crime. "We" will all be safe on the streets. Life sentences for all on 1st offense no matter what?
Many of us are just as frustrated when our neighborhoods, quieter and safer when our local drug dealers are behind bars, go right back to the way things were when these guys are released. We see them plying the same corners and vestibules and say, "They're here again."
2
@Meredith
"Life sentences for all on 1st offense no matter what?"
Is this what we are talking about here? Do you even know who gets prison time in America?
The man who just shot the officer in the head had a juvenile robbery and 23 adult arrests and was never sentenced to prison time.
The system should be first no violence offense - probation and expunging of the record after a period with no further crime.
Second no violent offense - permanent record, conditional release (drug free, employment, etc).
Third no violent offense or first violent offense - jail, supervised parole, permanent record.
Second violent offense - serious (5-10 years) jail time.
Third violent offense - life in prison, meaning release at old age.
"Life sentences for all on 1st offense no matter what?"
Is this what we are talking about here? Do you even know who gets prison time in America?
The man who just shot the officer in the head had a juvenile robbery and 23 adult arrests and was never sentenced to prison time.
The system should be first no violence offense - probation and expunging of the record after a period with no further crime.
Second no violent offense - permanent record, conditional release (drug free, employment, etc).
Third no violent offense or first violent offense - jail, supervised parole, permanent record.
Second violent offense - serious (5-10 years) jail time.
Third violent offense - life in prison, meaning release at old age.
1
As usual this whole "tough on crime" meme started with the Republicans and their fear driven tactics back in the '80s, if a Democrat didn't want to lock up everyone, then they were "soft on crime." What scared clone wouldn't vote for that? Then they came up with the 3 strikes and your out law, which had people going to jail for 25 years for stealing a slice of Pizza.
They really have ruined this country in every dishonest way possible
They really have ruined this country in every dishonest way possible
2
Rick, great post were it actually true. Many of the policies you blame on Republicans were authored by Democrats. For example, type "HR 5484 Anti Drug Abuse Act" into your favorite search engine & do some reading.
Like Obama's branch secretaries and Joint Chiefs of Staff sometimes the mayor's police chiefs and commissioners are what they appear to be, under the yoke of incompetence. In the U.S., sheriffs are elected and thus held accountable directly by the people and explains the push for similar leadership structures starting in 2012, in the U.K..
It's important to manage expectations related to changing law enforcement behavior to cause lower prison populations. It will be a slow process with a lot of compromises. The US has "over incarcerated" for decades. DA's have overcharged, while the poor, unable to retain decent counsel, have come to rely
public defenders to get them a plea deal. The system is a mess with lot's of mouths feeding off the current practices. From correctional officers to public defenders....It will take years of sustained effort to turn the system upside down and reconfigure it.
public defenders to get them a plea deal. The system is a mess with lot's of mouths feeding off the current practices. From correctional officers to public defenders....It will take years of sustained effort to turn the system upside down and reconfigure it.
1
Prison reform is treating the symptoms, but ignoring the disease. We have taken a wrong turn as a society and are now baffled by the results we are getting. Consider:
We glorify violence as a solution to life's problems and then complain about the murder rate.
We glorify the 'gangsta lifestyle' and then wonder why so many kids wind up in trouble.
We have millions of kids being raised by single moms, who often work late hours or two jobs, then complain about the poor performance of inner city schools.
Instead of a new Billion Dollar Bomber, let's use our money to support after school programs, get positive messages in the media, provide resources for single mothers, provide education about parenting and respectful relationships to prevent the whole 'single mom' phenomenon. Lets work on the problem before that young, minority male is arrested. Its an old saying but still true: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
We glorify violence as a solution to life's problems and then complain about the murder rate.
We glorify the 'gangsta lifestyle' and then wonder why so many kids wind up in trouble.
We have millions of kids being raised by single moms, who often work late hours or two jobs, then complain about the poor performance of inner city schools.
Instead of a new Billion Dollar Bomber, let's use our money to support after school programs, get positive messages in the media, provide resources for single mothers, provide education about parenting and respectful relationships to prevent the whole 'single mom' phenomenon. Lets work on the problem before that young, minority male is arrested. Its an old saying but still true: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
12
Discharging troubled people to the street without the assistance required to help them stay safe and out of trouble is a formula for a disaster. In the 1960's the liberals calling for individual rights and the conservatives looking for a way to save money welcomed the discharge of people with mental health problems to the street. Within less than a decade street level crime rose and the police were on the front line dealing with some very troubled people. The "three broad areas of reform" will cost money not promises. Police officers will need specialized training. Community based social workers and counselors will be needed in greater numbers. Failure to make this a national priority will make a bad situation worse. Simply changing definitions of what is a criminal act and giving the courts more discretion is not reform.
16
Why are mentally ill not allowed to due process? People are calling for reform for jailing people who can't afford a 200 dollar bail, yet an individual can be locked in solitary confinement for months on a mere accusation of mental illness and there is never a judge, there is never a lawyer and Obamacare always pays.
1
N.H., a "mere accusation" of mental instability? Hardly.
Do you ever ride the NYC subways? A couple of years ago, there was a big guy who was a regular every morning, shouting and cursing and stomping around while the rest of us riders kept our heads down. One morning he stormed about having a gun. He said he wanted to dhoot people. As far as I know, he didn't, and I still kept seeing him whenever I was unlucky enough to get into the same car at the same time.
You have to actually push someone into the tracks or stab someone to get locked up.
Do you ever ride the NYC subways? A couple of years ago, there was a big guy who was a regular every morning, shouting and cursing and stomping around while the rest of us riders kept our heads down. One morning he stormed about having a gun. He said he wanted to dhoot people. As far as I know, he didn't, and I still kept seeing him whenever I was unlucky enough to get into the same car at the same time.
You have to actually push someone into the tracks or stab someone to get locked up.
arp, the problem was and is that while the "conservatives" (actually reactionaries) were willing to close mental hospitals to save money, they were not willing to fund the necessary support services, including group homes and therapy, to help prevent the people released from the hospitals from being dangers to themselves and the rest of us. Typical penny wise and pound foolish behavior.
2
Bravo NY Times for a fine editorial.
All these suggestions are excellent. I would like the country to go farther, and at least decriminalize, if not legalize all addictive substances. Besides getting petty user and dealer out of jail, and keeping them from jail in the first place, it would stop the destabilization of governments around the world because of the power of narco gangsters, whose financial and military power allow them to destroy police forces and governments.
The US would still want a Marshall plan to offer help to legal addicts, programs, jobs, medical help, but all these investments would be far less than the 50 billion or whatever it is we spend on the drug wars every year, that is just money down the drain.The only incarcerable offence I would leave from non-violent drug users and dealers, would be if a legal addict encourabed or helped an non addict to become one. Pushing the addictive substances on any non addict would be punishable.
All these suggestions are excellent. I would like the country to go farther, and at least decriminalize, if not legalize all addictive substances. Besides getting petty user and dealer out of jail, and keeping them from jail in the first place, it would stop the destabilization of governments around the world because of the power of narco gangsters, whose financial and military power allow them to destroy police forces and governments.
The US would still want a Marshall plan to offer help to legal addicts, programs, jobs, medical help, but all these investments would be far less than the 50 billion or whatever it is we spend on the drug wars every year, that is just money down the drain.The only incarcerable offence I would leave from non-violent drug users and dealers, would be if a legal addict encourabed or helped an non addict to become one. Pushing the addictive substances on any non addict would be punishable.
2
The public opinions of 130 managerial level criminal justice figures who work for jurisdictions controlled by Democrats will almost certainly reflect the prevailing sentiment among Democrats on all matters related to crime. Readers might have been somewhat enlightened had the editorial identified this employment bias. On the theory that the states are a laboratory, perhaps these Democrat jurisdictions should go soft on crime for say, 5 years. If it works as well as Democrats believe it will, the rest of the country can try it.
1
“We need less incarceration, not more, to keep all Americans safe.” Which is why Tyrone Howard was released from prison and a NYC cop is dead.
6
one swallow does not a summer make. this kind of freaking out isn't helpful in any kind of public policy. with all due condolences to his family, one cop being shot isn't a reason to not look at prison reform, when you are looking at the largest prison population in the world. basically, as others have pointed out, for-profit corporations are quite pleased to have as many prisoners as possible in the for-profit prisons. like with most things, follow the money.
One of the NYT journalists, Jim Dwyer did a piece some time ago about a girl who was caught with a gun being put in a diversionary program rather than going to jail. I contacted him and asked him to do a follow up in a year or so to find out if she stayed out of trouble. Of course he never followed it up. Tyrone Holder was put in a similar program despite the fact he was a suspect in a shooting. Has this brought Dwyer to his senses that when a gun is involved so must be jail time? I doubt it.
4
I am infuriated by the prospect of a return to the days of street crime, petty theft and other dangerous and annoying behaviors that degrade our quality of life. Does anyone not understand how the inevitable rise in crime rates will strengthen and grow our already bloated and over-empowered law enforcement industry? A neat trick, that! This is a crazy idea that will only benefit the police, a group most liberals already mistrust, with good reason.
3
As a criminal lawyer, I observe that in New York City this morning, in the wake of another horrific police shooting, you can be sure that the cops and the mayor will waver on these compelling issues, pointing to the long "rap" sheet of the offender and unfairly criticizing the judge who, in a lawful exercise of discretion, put him into a "program." But the crucial point is not so much that things sometimes go terribly wrong, but that criminal justice reform is something whose time has come. There is far too much criminalization, too much overcharging, too much imprisonment and too little interest in alternatives to custody. The police want prison reform for the same reasons that the rest of us should want it. Excesses in the criminal justice system hurt everyone. They hurt law enforcement whose resources could be better used to deal with serious, violent offenders and recidivists. And whose resources should also be used to better relations with the public. They hurt the prison system because it is bursting at the seams and cannot handle needless overcrowding. And they hurt us as members of the public because the cost is prohibitive and because we need to be a more humane society, willing to address the shortcomings of others who are in prison for the wrong reasons, often far too long. We need to experiment with alternatives to custody for non-violent offenders, and properly fund them, so that we can integrate worthy offenders into society, which carries upside for everyone.
9
This makes sense. I don't imagine prison makes people nicer before reentering society.
2
First, all the citizens of good will should realize that they cannot lead the life of lotus-eaters protected by the hired guns of municipal police. They should follow the words put in Wilhelm Tell's mouth by Schiller (transl. Theodore Martin): "I want my right hand, when I want my bow". The German original is better: "Mir fehlt der Arm, wenn mir die Waffe fehlt" -- "I lack [or miss] my arm, when I lack a weapon".
Second, the vulnerability of the police is only aggravated by the .permissiveness of the judiciary, infected by the pseudo-well-meant ideals of social justice.
Third, a limit of zero tolerance to violent crime may lead to a safer, saner and more compassionate society
Second, the vulnerability of the police is only aggravated by the .permissiveness of the judiciary, infected by the pseudo-well-meant ideals of social justice.
Third, a limit of zero tolerance to violent crime may lead to a safer, saner and more compassionate society
Of course they do. Why in the world would the police *not* want prison reform. It doesn't take a genius to see that the situation is completely out of control with respect to incarceration rates and severity of sentences. I imagine that a good percentage of people who pursue careers in law enforcement start out with hopes of helping others and improving the world. It must be devastating to later realize that their jobs cannot be conscientiously done in good conscience. As agents of American Justice, they end up damaging or destroying countless lives by feeding the monster that our criminal justice system has become. The police want to get back to protecting the public.
2
Prisons have become a for profit industry that is booming here in America. Prisons are being "contracted out" to private corporations that in turn finance campaigns of governors and attorney generals that have influence on sentencing reform in their prospective states. Prisons are being run like large hotel chains where max occupancy rates are desirable and encouraged.
Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo - obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.
-Angela Davis
Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo - obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.
-Angela Davis
3
Why are sentences in Europe and for that matter most countries significantly lower than in the US even for the exact same crimes? The answer is simple. First their sentencing structure is designed on the accurate premise that most former inmates will return to civil society. And secondly, that long prison terms rather than correcting behavior, actually destroy character, breaks down the inmate and caste them back into society broken, bitter and without the tools for full reintegration.
None of this is news. Criminologists have studied incarceration models for years and with few exceptions, the US model is the most destructive and dysfunctional of its similar Western counterparts. It's as if our view of crime and punishment was trapped in some 19th century time warp. We know what to do, but we lack the moral will to do what is best for the country and for our fellow human being who have commited crimes.
We have generated so much fear of the Frankenstein of crime, even as violent crime has been steadily declining for that last twenty years, that we now don't know how to tell the public that this monster doesn't really exist. Crime does exist and criminals do cause great harm to others, but we cause greater harm to ourselves and society as a whole through draconian prison policies that fail to serve the inmate or society. We all should join with the police and demand prison reform.
None of this is news. Criminologists have studied incarceration models for years and with few exceptions, the US model is the most destructive and dysfunctional of its similar Western counterparts. It's as if our view of crime and punishment was trapped in some 19th century time warp. We know what to do, but we lack the moral will to do what is best for the country and for our fellow human being who have commited crimes.
We have generated so much fear of the Frankenstein of crime, even as violent crime has been steadily declining for that last twenty years, that we now don't know how to tell the public that this monster doesn't really exist. Crime does exist and criminals do cause great harm to others, but we cause greater harm to ourselves and society as a whole through draconian prison policies that fail to serve the inmate or society. We all should join with the police and demand prison reform.
3
“We need less incarceration, not more, to keep all Americans safe?”
Tell that to Officer Randolph Holder's family, friends, and fellow officers! Officer Holder was shot and killed just Tuesday night after pursuing Tyronne Howard, who just last October was one of 19 defendants in an alleged crack-cocaine roundup. Mr. Howard's court records showed 23 arrests as an adult, and even though he was involved in a drug-related shootout, wounding an 11 year old boy and a 77 year old man, his record also states he had no violent felony convictions. Why? The shooting incident was sealed and rather than jail, let alone prison, Mr. Howard was ordered into "drug treatment", a decision that was allegedly supported by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. Both Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton quickly denounced this accusation on Wednesday. Not that any of this matters now to Officer Holder, his family, friends or fellow officers. We've had to endure of late, numerous articles attempting to convince Americans that drugs offenders are not seen as hardened criminals. 6,000 prisoners are on the list to be released beginning the end of this month. It would be interesting to know just how many of those were convicted of drug-related charges. But then again, we've been lead to believe that they are not dangerous, or a threat to society. Right.
My sincere condolences to Officer Holder's family, friends and fellow officers.
Tell that to Officer Randolph Holder's family, friends, and fellow officers! Officer Holder was shot and killed just Tuesday night after pursuing Tyronne Howard, who just last October was one of 19 defendants in an alleged crack-cocaine roundup. Mr. Howard's court records showed 23 arrests as an adult, and even though he was involved in a drug-related shootout, wounding an 11 year old boy and a 77 year old man, his record also states he had no violent felony convictions. Why? The shooting incident was sealed and rather than jail, let alone prison, Mr. Howard was ordered into "drug treatment", a decision that was allegedly supported by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. Both Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton quickly denounced this accusation on Wednesday. Not that any of this matters now to Officer Holder, his family, friends or fellow officers. We've had to endure of late, numerous articles attempting to convince Americans that drugs offenders are not seen as hardened criminals. 6,000 prisoners are on the list to be released beginning the end of this month. It would be interesting to know just how many of those were convicted of drug-related charges. But then again, we've been lead to believe that they are not dangerous, or a threat to society. Right.
My sincere condolences to Officer Holder's family, friends and fellow officers.
16
I would argue that you are conflating this argument based on evidence of another problem.
The problem here is not the death of a heroic officer because of a person being incarcerated/not incarcerated, the problem is the inability of the United States Congress to stop the wrong type of people obtaining firearms.
The problem here is not the death of a heroic officer because of a person being incarcerated/not incarcerated, the problem is the inability of the United States Congress to stop the wrong type of people obtaining firearms.
So the New York Times wants less jail time, not more.
We see how well that turned out in Harlem, when a man who should have been in jail was given instead drug rehabilitation, and stole a bicycle and shot a cop in the head, killing him.
Those of us who live in Flatbush can tell you that it's never a good day when someone who made our lives miserable with his drug-dealing and all the various nuisances involved with that (double-parked cars, noise at all hours, public urination, garbage, brawling, and the rest) gets out of jail. Suddenly, there he is again.
And you can't wait for him to slip up and go back to jail.
We see how well that turned out in Harlem, when a man who should have been in jail was given instead drug rehabilitation, and stole a bicycle and shot a cop in the head, killing him.
Those of us who live in Flatbush can tell you that it's never a good day when someone who made our lives miserable with his drug-dealing and all the various nuisances involved with that (double-parked cars, noise at all hours, public urination, garbage, brawling, and the rest) gets out of jail. Suddenly, there he is again.
And you can't wait for him to slip up and go back to jail.
6
If the state would find a way to handle mentally disabled people then our jails would not fill up If we stopped putting teens and young adults in jail for pot possession then our jails would free up But we don't because the cops, courts, states, and LAWYERS make too much money off the incarcerations and it creates too many jobs in poor areas where jobs are lacking. The system is a joke and a farce. It is reflected on jails, but also on traffic offenses too used as income sources and not as punishment.
1
The Editorial Board has gone crazy. New York was almost unlivable at the height of the crime wave in the late 80s and early 90s. Remember the barbed wire everywhere, the murders in Central Park, the permeating sense of unease? While there were many factors contributing to the decline in crime, the practice of sending criminals to prison undoubtedly helped. The New York Times has become so fixated on political/racial ideology that they are overlooking the absolute basics--that a functioning society needs to punish criminals, both as a means of deterrence and as a means of keeping repeat criminals off the streets.
11
Read this editorial and then read the article about the NYC police officer who was shot and killed by a felon sent to a drug diversion program rather than prison. How many truly "non-violent" prisoners are there anyway? Most of the non-violent are white collar criminals or tax evaders (like Eric Garner.) Do we really want to favor fraudsters with less severe sentences?
I'm all for reducing the prison population - and the influence of prison employees' unions. But we need to be careful in how this is done. This editorial casually dismisses any connection between locking up criminals and decreased crime rates, but the superficial evidence points to a high correlation. And in the end it will be poor, minority communities that will bear the brunt of any unintended consequences of reduced prison populations.
I'm all for reducing the prison population - and the influence of prison employees' unions. But we need to be careful in how this is done. This editorial casually dismisses any connection between locking up criminals and decreased crime rates, but the superficial evidence points to a high correlation. And in the end it will be poor, minority communities that will bear the brunt of any unintended consequences of reduced prison populations.
8
Non violent crimes are falling because less people are outside congregating and looking for something to do - like we used to do as teenagers. With so many folks playing with their "digitalia" indoors, the opportunity for mischief decreases.
The increase in violent crime is the combined result of post industrial unemployment (leading to the development of an honor culture), the "incarcinogenic" effect of mass incarceration (the depleting of men of color from cities leading to a lack of commitment to family formation and jealous/zealous competition for promiscuous males by plentiful females), the amplification of the resulting interpersonal tension on social media and the bristling bazar of guns to resolve the fulminating conflicts.
Police reform will not strike at the root of crime which is simply the devaluation of non-white life. They are hacking at the leaves, while the root entwines itself on deeper ledge.
The increase in violent crime is the combined result of post industrial unemployment (leading to the development of an honor culture), the "incarcinogenic" effect of mass incarceration (the depleting of men of color from cities leading to a lack of commitment to family formation and jealous/zealous competition for promiscuous males by plentiful females), the amplification of the resulting interpersonal tension on social media and the bristling bazar of guns to resolve the fulminating conflicts.
Police reform will not strike at the root of crime which is simply the devaluation of non-white life. They are hacking at the leaves, while the root entwines itself on deeper ledge.
Prison should be reserved for those who have demonstrated that they pose a real danger to themselves or others. By their actions they have forfeited the right to live in free society.
We need something else to deal with those who break the law and deserve punishment of some form, whether it be losing their freedom for a period of time or some form of restitution to the benefit of the victim(s).
Our present system, while it may have some value in isolated cases, appears to be a model we cannot and should not sustain.
We need something else to deal with those who break the law and deserve punishment of some form, whether it be losing their freedom for a period of time or some form of restitution to the benefit of the victim(s).
Our present system, while it may have some value in isolated cases, appears to be a model we cannot and should not sustain.
3
Who cares what the police want or why they want prison reform? They are the hired help who enforce the laws against those individuals and acts that the elected and selected government representatives of we the people have determined to be criminally worthy of prosecution in an effort to obtain justice. And prison reform is a belated emphasis on a symptom of a fundamentally unjust, unfair and immoral criminal justice system.
The cops are focused on their job performance effectiveness and the officials are focused on governing and keeping their jobs. The product of our current criminal justice system is 2.3 million Americans or 25% of the world's prisoners with 5% of the people. With 40% of them being poor black and brown primarily non-violent property crimes along with illegal drug use and possession. While blacks are only 13.2% of Americans. Our jails are also our largest mental institutions. Many of the homeless who end up in prison are disproportionately mentally ill and veterans.
We need to decide who should be in prison and why they should be there by reforming our criminal justice laws and procedures. Prison should be for career organized / individual violent persons who do the most societal harm. Drugs should become a public health problem like alcohol and tobacco. No mentally ill person should be in prison. Wall Street thieves do more damage.
My family cops see police incompetence and bigotry. A domestic dispute call or the mentally ill is what they dread.
The cops are focused on their job performance effectiveness and the officials are focused on governing and keeping their jobs. The product of our current criminal justice system is 2.3 million Americans or 25% of the world's prisoners with 5% of the people. With 40% of them being poor black and brown primarily non-violent property crimes along with illegal drug use and possession. While blacks are only 13.2% of Americans. Our jails are also our largest mental institutions. Many of the homeless who end up in prison are disproportionately mentally ill and veterans.
We need to decide who should be in prison and why they should be there by reforming our criminal justice laws and procedures. Prison should be for career organized / individual violent persons who do the most societal harm. Drugs should become a public health problem like alcohol and tobacco. No mentally ill person should be in prison. Wall Street thieves do more damage.
My family cops see police incompetence and bigotry. A domestic dispute call or the mentally ill is what they dread.
2
Every day I read about more people, from legislators to police, jumping on the current sentencing reform bandwagon. I'm tempted to think ho-hum, the punitive pendulum swings back and forth. The baby steps being taken are better than nothing, of course, but it will take legalizing drugs, and directing more resources toward drug abuse education and rehabilitation, to make a serious difference in the terrible status quo.
1
For 226 years, legislators at all levels have formulated laws mostly on the requests of Cops and Prosecutors. Now there are too many laws and wars on this and that.
Repeal laws.
Repeal laws.
2
Too little, too late. The real issue here is ignorance. The American public has no
understanding of what our prison system actually is like. On the right, particularly, the mantra is: we shouldn'tbe "codling" criminals, who are only getting what they deserve. A national disgrace is too soft in discribing the abomination that our prison system has become. Equal justice under the law has become a farce in the land of the free. Where's the outrage?
understanding of what our prison system actually is like. On the right, particularly, the mantra is: we shouldn'tbe "codling" criminals, who are only getting what they deserve. A national disgrace is too soft in discribing the abomination that our prison system has become. Equal justice under the law has become a farce in the land of the free. Where's the outrage?
1
Great idea, now we just have to sell it to the corporate prison companies.
4
Corporate Prison companies are easily bought off. The Government Unions who staff 95% of the Prisons in this country make this DOA.
3
Easy to say very difficult to do! NYPD officer Randolph Holder was killed by a man who had a long and violet criminal history.He was given a Diversion Program instead of prison time.
I'm sure the message to the Judges was to incarcerate less and use the diversion programs more.
Mayor DiBlasio is now incensed that this guy was on the streets but his ongoing rhetoric about the Police and the Justice system are part of the problem.
Unfortunately there are bad people out there and the problem starts at home and with failing schools. When are those issues finally going to be addressed?
I'm sure the message to the Judges was to incarcerate less and use the diversion programs more.
Mayor DiBlasio is now incensed that this guy was on the streets but his ongoing rhetoric about the Police and the Justice system are part of the problem.
Unfortunately there are bad people out there and the problem starts at home and with failing schools. When are those issues finally going to be addressed?
15
So you are just going to ignore economic factors? Crime occurs all around the world, and blaming it on household isn't good critical thinking.
It is all well and good that law enforcement officials want less incarceration, but how about these officials telling the police officers on the beat to stop making arrests for frivilous reasons, such as the arrest by NYPD of a bruised and bloodied octogenarian for jaywalking, an arrest that'd probably cost the city plenty as the city has been sued for $5 million for that arrest?
6
If this article were about LEAP ... 'Law Enforcement Against Prohibition' then I'd be certain that this was a genuinely felt sentiment because LEAP really is an organization of current and former Police Officers, State Troopers, Sheriffs, Judges and other LEOs (and their supporters) -- that seeks honest, meaningful change that will result in a more just world and a far stronger society. Many of them were formerly strong advocates of The War on Drugs and having been the people on the front lines of that war they gained an insight few others can hope to have. They have seen first hand the harm it has wrought. Crucially, these are people with a strong moral compass and the courage to stand up for what is right and they have been working to make these changes for over 10 years. They seek an end to criminalization of drug users not because they advocate drug use but because, among many other reasons, they recognize the harm that has been done to the relationship between the Law Enforcement community and much of society and the lack of respect for law enforcement that has been engendered by making it fight this drug war when, if any intervention is actually required, it should be provided by the medical community. Their website (www.leap.cc) contains a wealth of worthwhile information and I recommend checking it out. Unfortunately, like other readers, I tend to think the group mentioned in this article have less pure and altruistic motives.
2
It would be possible to reconcile "broken windows" policing with lower incarceration rates if we funded programs that provided meaningful jobs for those who are breaking windows. Similarly it would be possible to eliminate "zero tolerance" programs in schools if we funded programs that offered something for students who need an approach different from the test-prep programs that dominate education today. Automatic criminal sentences and zero-tolerance policies are appealing to taxpayers and politicians because they eliminate the need for costly interventions that might address the real problem, which is the lack of an equal opportunity for all Americans to get an education that will enable them to earn a living.
Here are a few suggestions, other than the most obvious ones about decriminalising the use, selling, distribution, growing, making or importation of some, most or all recreational drugs.
1. Remove the strong incentive for the accused to enter into a plea bargain and confess to a lesser crime they did not commit for fear of being convicted and harshly sentenced for a more serious crime they also did not commit.
2. Do not convict any accused person based solely upon their uncorroborated confession or upon the uncorroborated confession of another person also accused of a crime.
3. Legally redefine rape as an act of sexual penetration that must involve the use of force, or blatant intimidation, or the use of a weapon, or result in visible, physical injury.
4. Put rapists and robbers in prison for a minimum of ten years for their first offence, twenty years for their second. There must remain some incentive for rapists and robbers not to kill their victims.
5. Then lock away for life in solitary confinement, yes put them in solitary, all murderers and those who leave their victims as quadriplegics, blinded, facially disfigured or otherwise permanently and seriously injured.
1. Remove the strong incentive for the accused to enter into a plea bargain and confess to a lesser crime they did not commit for fear of being convicted and harshly sentenced for a more serious crime they also did not commit.
2. Do not convict any accused person based solely upon their uncorroborated confession or upon the uncorroborated confession of another person also accused of a crime.
3. Legally redefine rape as an act of sexual penetration that must involve the use of force, or blatant intimidation, or the use of a weapon, or result in visible, physical injury.
4. Put rapists and robbers in prison for a minimum of ten years for their first offence, twenty years for their second. There must remain some incentive for rapists and robbers not to kill their victims.
5. Then lock away for life in solitary confinement, yes put them in solitary, all murderers and those who leave their victims as quadriplegics, blinded, facially disfigured or otherwise permanently and seriously injured.
5
This week here in NYC we are morning the death of a cop shot to death by a career gangbanger. The cops were pursueing him following a wild west shoot out he was involved in between rival gangs. He had a warrent out against him for failure to show up at a drug cousuling program he was sentence to as an alternative to prison time. He has a rap sheet the length of his arm.
First offenders fine, second offenders - depends on the charges; after that jail.
First offenders fine, second offenders - depends on the charges; after that jail.
15
Fortunately for us, this article is NOT referring to violent offenders so lets stay on topic. It clearly states that the issue is "nonviolent felonies" such as drug possession.
2
Thomas Edsall regularly does a great job of collecting the various takes on a pressing issue and then lets the reader decide how to think about it. Unfortunately readers often get angry at him for presenting the information he gathers. To be sure, nobody is perfectly neutral and there is no such thing as a perfectly objective presentation of anything -- even the grammar, as we have recently read, affects a topic -- and of course just selecting a topic is making a choice and being subjective. With that out of the way, it is fascinating to read the editorial today about police wanting sentencing reform in light of Edsall's recent piece about light sentencing correlating with increased crime. Before we all use our instinct rather than reason to make judgments about this, I would hope that the Times could set up a dialog between Edsall's sources, the Times editorial board, and the police officials asking for changes in sentencing and clarify the issue to us. That would be good journalism. And just for the record, my instinct would be to try lighter sentencing and treatment instead of incarceration for addicts and those with other mental diseases. But the point of journalism is not to reinforce our uninformed opinions, but to inform us.
4
The reforms discussed in the editorial are important, but they deal with only half the problem. Equally vital is the treatment inmates receive in our gulags. The widespread resort to solitary confinement, especially for extended periods, should fit any reasonable judge's definition of cruel punishment. This vile practice, which contravenes the basic human need for contact with others, should head the list of banned policies, except under extraordinary conditions. If circumstances require isolation, the courts should mandate an end to its punitive nature.
This practice, and the general ill-treatment of inmates in our prisons, reflect a widespread attitude that society should cast felons out of the community, and that therefore we should expend the minimum possible on their upkeep. Lawbreakers who pose a threat to society deserve confinement, but they remain citizens, members of the national community, and we must treat them as such. Since most will eventually reenter society, moreover, we owe it them and ourselves to prepare them through training and the fair treatment that may reduce some of their bitterness.
All of this costs money, but surely less than the cost of dealing with unskilled, alienated men and women who see no positive future for themselves. A decent, humane society does not treat anyone the way we do our inmates. Our descendants will not judge us lightly for our cruelty.
This practice, and the general ill-treatment of inmates in our prisons, reflect a widespread attitude that society should cast felons out of the community, and that therefore we should expend the minimum possible on their upkeep. Lawbreakers who pose a threat to society deserve confinement, but they remain citizens, members of the national community, and we must treat them as such. Since most will eventually reenter society, moreover, we owe it them and ourselves to prepare them through training and the fair treatment that may reduce some of their bitterness.
All of this costs money, but surely less than the cost of dealing with unskilled, alienated men and women who see no positive future for themselves. A decent, humane society does not treat anyone the way we do our inmates. Our descendants will not judge us lightly for our cruelty.
35
Absolutely right. We put people in prison for years, sometimes in brutal circumstances, and then expect them to be "rehabilitated" when they come out. And would any of us be "rehabilitated" if we had been treated that way for years? I doubt it.
What we are really doing is just locking them away for some amount of time, on the assumption that they will re-offend when released and then we can lock them away for a longer time.
What we are really doing is just locking them away for some amount of time, on the assumption that they will re-offend when released and then we can lock them away for a longer time.
1
False comparisons always irk me. U.S. prisons leave much to be desired, but they are FAR from the worst (try a French prison sometime, for instance) and simply cannot meet the description of "gulag." If anyone was curious about what a gulag actually is...
GULAG: a system of LABOR CAMPS maintained in the former Soviet Union from 1930 to 1955 in which many people died; a camp in the Gulag system, or any political labor camp.
Many of the people in gulag's were political prisoners being literally worked to death for daring to have views offensive to the party line. Don't make a reasonable discussion about policing and prisons in the U.S. UNREASONABLE by making a ridiculous comparison to gulags. Gulags were just a tiny step removed from concentration camps. I have no doubt that anyone who'd actually been grabbed from their bed in the night by the Soviet Union's secret police on secret charges and thrown into a forced labor camp without trial would've given much and more to be transferred to a U.S. "supermax" prison. Your overall statement about the need to treat prisoners fairly is well said, but can we please keep discussions within some kind of plausible context?
GULAG: a system of LABOR CAMPS maintained in the former Soviet Union from 1930 to 1955 in which many people died; a camp in the Gulag system, or any political labor camp.
Many of the people in gulag's were political prisoners being literally worked to death for daring to have views offensive to the party line. Don't make a reasonable discussion about policing and prisons in the U.S. UNREASONABLE by making a ridiculous comparison to gulags. Gulags were just a tiny step removed from concentration camps. I have no doubt that anyone who'd actually been grabbed from their bed in the night by the Soviet Union's secret police on secret charges and thrown into a forced labor camp without trial would've given much and more to be transferred to a U.S. "supermax" prison. Your overall statement about the need to treat prisoners fairly is well said, but can we please keep discussions within some kind of plausible context?
1
If only these same law-enforcement officials would speak out and mobilize against the madness surrounding guns in this country!
9
Some do, John. Not anywhere near enough, but some do.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2013/jan/16/Police-chiefs-back-...
and here is the International Association of Police Chief's position paper, which favors several controls:
https://www.mwcog.org/uploads/committee-documents/b11bV19e20130528130749...
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2013/jan/16/Police-chiefs-back-...
and here is the International Association of Police Chief's position paper, which favors several controls:
https://www.mwcog.org/uploads/committee-documents/b11bV19e20130528130749...
1
Are we finally seeing then promised land - and journalists are actually reporting instead of being criminal muppets?! YES!
1
THE LAND OF THE FREE and Home of the Brave also holds the disgraceful title of being the Land of the Most Incarcerated Persons.
I recall a member of Congress sitting in bleachers inside a prison talking about mandatory prison sentences being a way to send a strong message to those who engage in crime. I thought to myself, What if the receiver of the messages is broken? More recently, I have changed my position to asking, What if the sender of the message and entire criminal justice system are rotten to the core?
If you don't believe me, just watch the YouTube videos of innocent, unarmed people--mostly males of color (including chilldren!) are gunned down like hunted animals. And the alleged murderers walk free! That is far closer to a Thugocracy in the land of the Emperor Putin than the US.
Freeing prisoners who are in need of drug rehabilitation and mental health support will be sending The Right Message (though not too-far-Right.) So will freeing the prisoners with such severe age-related dementia that they cannot perform any activities of daily living independently. The name given by prison officials for those prisoners who, without compensation, help these unfortunates suffering from a major illness with no hope of treatment.
The proper name for the work the "buddies do" with no salary is SLAVERY.
I did not want to believe that the number of prisoners we have now in the US is greater than the number in Stalin's Gulag. But it is! Thank you Far Right!
I recall a member of Congress sitting in bleachers inside a prison talking about mandatory prison sentences being a way to send a strong message to those who engage in crime. I thought to myself, What if the receiver of the messages is broken? More recently, I have changed my position to asking, What if the sender of the message and entire criminal justice system are rotten to the core?
If you don't believe me, just watch the YouTube videos of innocent, unarmed people--mostly males of color (including chilldren!) are gunned down like hunted animals. And the alleged murderers walk free! That is far closer to a Thugocracy in the land of the Emperor Putin than the US.
Freeing prisoners who are in need of drug rehabilitation and mental health support will be sending The Right Message (though not too-far-Right.) So will freeing the prisoners with such severe age-related dementia that they cannot perform any activities of daily living independently. The name given by prison officials for those prisoners who, without compensation, help these unfortunates suffering from a major illness with no hope of treatment.
The proper name for the work the "buddies do" with no salary is SLAVERY.
I did not want to believe that the number of prisoners we have now in the US is greater than the number in Stalin's Gulag. But it is! Thank you Far Right!
9
Sigh... Most of the Mandatory Sentencing laws on the books today were authored by Democrats. Something tells me you didn't know that.
This article is shamefully misleading and ought to be tossed into the waste basket. It leaves out a critical detail that undermines the supposed news it reports:
The recent call for less incarceration by law enforcement is tainted because, at least in part, it is self-serving:
" To win their support early on, authors of the bill in Congress and some officials in the Justice Department told police groups that money saved from reducing prison populations would go to local and state police." http://news.yahoo.com/progress-sentencing-reform-reveals-waning-police-i...
The recent call for less incarceration by law enforcement is tainted because, at least in part, it is self-serving:
" To win their support early on, authors of the bill in Congress and some officials in the Justice Department told police groups that money saved from reducing prison populations would go to local and state police." http://news.yahoo.com/progress-sentencing-reform-reveals-waning-police-i...
7
This is a Nixon-in-China moment. Let's make the most of it.
1
Who just shot police officer Randolph Holder? Why, a guy who was in a diversion program to keep offenders out of crowded jails. I suppose he was considered non-violent until he got a gun and started shooting, but residents of his building report he was a big drug dealer, and had been at it for the pt ten years.
17
Per NYS Division of Criminal Justice regulations, New York State uses a computerized risk need assessment tool with respect to all criminal justice decisions. (Although not all Judges will consider the risk scores in their decision making). Still, it would be very good to know if the individual who shot police officer Randolph Holder scored as high risk, medium risk, or low risk on an assessment tool, before he was released to a diversion program.
2
@JES - Knowing our criminals, they have probably already downloaded the computer algorithm onto their smartphones, and are making sure they qualify as low risk.
1
Of course, it was pretty easy for him to get that gun, wasn't it.
How is that conservatives always find one exception that might prove an interesting argument if used in perspective and then proceed to beat that horse to death. As if one exception really is the rule.
How is that conservatives always find one exception that might prove an interesting argument if used in perspective and then proceed to beat that horse to death. As if one exception really is the rule.
Traffic engineers have a long established rule for setting the correct speed limit. It is what 90% of drivers would do anyway on that stretch of road. The point is to get compliance by general agreement. Then the rare special case gets respect, and those who flaunt it entirely are rejected by the public rather than endorsed and copied.
The same concepts apply to criminal law more generally. It can limit the margins, but only because it has the general acceptance of almost everyone. Without that, the general rejection will defeat the law, and efforts to enforce the law, and turn those enforcement efforts into a public enemy and object of hostility.
We have gone too far. Americans who actually know what we are doing are appalled, quite widely and consistently appalled.
Many judges publicly protest being made to do it.
From my own experience, we get both many cops who resist being the bad guy who does it, and we get bad cops who glory in doing it.
Political pandering and manipulation of code words and fear itself have taken us somewhere that shames those who know what we've done.
Stop it.
I do not encourage bad behavior. I feel we fail to limit bad behavior when we wreck our system so we no longer respect our own rules or our own enforcement.
Moderation. It has many virtues. Among them, it works. Immoderate laws simply fail. We see a lot of that failure.
The same concepts apply to criminal law more generally. It can limit the margins, but only because it has the general acceptance of almost everyone. Without that, the general rejection will defeat the law, and efforts to enforce the law, and turn those enforcement efforts into a public enemy and object of hostility.
We have gone too far. Americans who actually know what we are doing are appalled, quite widely and consistently appalled.
Many judges publicly protest being made to do it.
From my own experience, we get both many cops who resist being the bad guy who does it, and we get bad cops who glory in doing it.
Political pandering and manipulation of code words and fear itself have taken us somewhere that shames those who know what we've done.
Stop it.
I do not encourage bad behavior. I feel we fail to limit bad behavior when we wreck our system so we no longer respect our own rules or our own enforcement.
Moderation. It has many virtues. Among them, it works. Immoderate laws simply fail. We see a lot of that failure.
36
When I saw the first of a spate of articles announcing this call, it was NYPD Chief Bratton's picture that accompanied the article. I thought it was ironic that of all 130 officials it would be one of the law enforcement officials who has had the most impact on the arrest and incarceration of hundreds of thousands of civilians in New York City and Los Angeles.
Police forces around the country have behaved badly for decades. In the last decade, they've behaved more brutally, openly, than in a very long time, breaking whatever bonds they'd made with the communities they operate in. This is true in New York, Los Angeles, Ferguson and St. Louis County, and many other cities. In the last year, we've seen how police unions have aggressively demanded more power and, in the case of New York, won it. We've seen how fraternal orders of police always take the side of police officers who kill innocent civilians and help them get off, Scot-free. In Chicago, the police run an off the books facility at Homan square where the Guardian newspaper has found that civilians are detained illegally, without due process.
In the end, this seems like a PR stunt. Black Lives Matter is having an impact and Bratton and his peers are worried. The militarization and over-policing begun under Bill Clinton's crime bill must be undone, by Congress, the states and municipalities. Change is coming, and Bratton & Co will not control it.
Black Lives Do Matter. Police will get back to protecting and serving.
Police forces around the country have behaved badly for decades. In the last decade, they've behaved more brutally, openly, than in a very long time, breaking whatever bonds they'd made with the communities they operate in. This is true in New York, Los Angeles, Ferguson and St. Louis County, and many other cities. In the last year, we've seen how police unions have aggressively demanded more power and, in the case of New York, won it. We've seen how fraternal orders of police always take the side of police officers who kill innocent civilians and help them get off, Scot-free. In Chicago, the police run an off the books facility at Homan square where the Guardian newspaper has found that civilians are detained illegally, without due process.
In the end, this seems like a PR stunt. Black Lives Matter is having an impact and Bratton and his peers are worried. The militarization and over-policing begun under Bill Clinton's crime bill must be undone, by Congress, the states and municipalities. Change is coming, and Bratton & Co will not control it.
Black Lives Do Matter. Police will get back to protecting and serving.
46
This is nothing more than self-interest on the part of a police-industrial complex that wants to remain in control. Police around the country have engaged in abuses that should no longer be tolerated. Homan Square should not exist in a country of laws, but it does.
Children should not be taken off the streets, but they are. Hunger in jails, county and state facilities, should not exist. But it does and in some cases, it is thanks to changes to laws that people are incarcerated and starved legally.
http://tinyurl.com/qy434pa
Solitary confinement should be outlawed. It is no different than torture.
http://tinyurl.com/qfwcezk
Angola Prison is a modern day plantation and an abomination. It isn't up to any group of police officials to shut it down. The people need to shut it down. Two must-read articles on the hell that is Louisiana State Penitentiary
http://mic.com/articles/88461/a-modern-day-slave-plantation-exists-and-i...
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-labor-in-amer...
Children should not be taken off the streets, but they are. Hunger in jails, county and state facilities, should not exist. But it does and in some cases, it is thanks to changes to laws that people are incarcerated and starved legally.
http://tinyurl.com/qy434pa
Solitary confinement should be outlawed. It is no different than torture.
http://tinyurl.com/qfwcezk
Angola Prison is a modern day plantation and an abomination. It isn't up to any group of police officials to shut it down. The people need to shut it down. Two must-read articles on the hell that is Louisiana State Penitentiary
http://mic.com/articles/88461/a-modern-day-slave-plantation-exists-and-i...
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-labor-in-amer...
17
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed an ethics complaint against an Alabama judge who forced indigent defendants to donate blood. This is quite literally about blood money.
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2015/10/20/splc-ethics-complaint-alabama-...
https://www.splcenter.org/news/2015/10/20/splc-ethics-complaint-alabama-...
23
"In the last decade, they've behaved more brutally, openly, than in a very long time, "
In the 1960's, the police donned riot gear, beat countless protesters, and spurred race riots. In the 1980's police shootings spurred a series of riots in Miami and elsewhere. In the early 1990's their beating of Rodney King caused South L.A. to burn and their heavy handedness at Waco caused the Branch Davidians to die en masse. More recently, in 2011, the police violently confronted the Occupy movement.
Exactly what was less brutal and less open about these confrontations than New York and Ferguson, et al.? Do you really have any evidence that the role of the police has been to protect and serve until the past year?
In the 1960's, the police donned riot gear, beat countless protesters, and spurred race riots. In the 1980's police shootings spurred a series of riots in Miami and elsewhere. In the early 1990's their beating of Rodney King caused South L.A. to burn and their heavy handedness at Waco caused the Branch Davidians to die en masse. More recently, in 2011, the police violently confronted the Occupy movement.
Exactly what was less brutal and less open about these confrontations than New York and Ferguson, et al.? Do you really have any evidence that the role of the police has been to protect and serve until the past year?
1
We don't even have universal pre-K schooling -- the most opportune years to influence development of our nation's citizens.
Our neighbor to the North -- Canada, has a mere fraction of the crime problems. Our continued behavior which actually incentivizes high rates of incarcerations is a national embarrassment. Walking at 3:00AM in Toronto, the only thing we encountered was a street cleaner with the "Keep Toronto Tidy" on the back.