I placed this editorial here because it buttresses what I stated in a previous post - people are desperate and when people get desperate all bets are off. The piece is in and of itself interesting, but the comments I've been seeing lately in the Tennessean are beginning to remind me of the.... ahem, human beings - and I use that term very loosely indeed - over at the hate-site "Free Republic" (and don't let their title fool you - they follow none of the tenets of true freedom - just try and post something there they don't agree with and see what happens - but be sure to log in with an expendable email address as their members are quite prone to flaming, spamming and trolling).
People in the communities where these criminals live know who they are and what they do. Law enforcement knows the kinds of people who commit most of these crimes. Just look at the videos. They are young, black and male for the most part. They wear similar clothes and drive similar cars. I say, start rousting people who fit the profile. Especially in areas where the businesses are that get hit. Put a cop or two in the back room with shotguns. Offer bigger rewards. Work with community leaders to identify these people where they live. These "common criminals" deserve as much of our wrath as do the "terrorists" we are so wary of.Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:01 am I got to go with tribe_dad on this one. I really think that if everybody sixteen years or older carried a firearm then the crime rate would go way down. You would be breaking the law by not carrying one and it has to be visible. A robber would think before he put a gun to someone's head if they knew he/she was also armed. If the victim was out working then there is a good chance they would have a bigger and better weapon because they could afford it. Also make it a law that somone saw a robbery going down they would be required to shoot said robber then go over and ask him why he wanted to rob someone. I betcha if a criminal knew his life was at stake he would go out and find a job.Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:08 pmThe utter ignorance and downright stupidity of some of my fellow human beings makes me sometimes ashamed to admit I am a member of their race. One person wants us to violate civil rights by "rousting" those who fit a particular profile - I wonder if this person would feel the same way if I were to suggest we start "rousting" anyone who tries to blame young black men for all crime that occurs in our city? The other person suggests a "Wild West" form of vigilante justice that would give people like the first "writer" free use of a firearm in the middle of the city - egads. Sigh. Our troubles as a society do run deep and I'd say we've got a lot more to worry about than just rising crime rates. The author of the article might have been better off stating that "'education' should be the first resort." Monday, 10/01/07 To fight violent crime, we must get at why people steal
Today's Topic: Spike in robberies a citywide concern
Our View
Violent crimes are on the rise again nationally after years of decline, and law enforcement agencies are under pressure to deal with the reversal of fortune.
The numbers released recently by the FBI are telling:
The number of violent crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, rose by 1.9 percent to 1.41 million in 2006. By category, robberies rose 7.2 percent and murders 1.8 percent. Rapes and aggravated assaults were down slightly.
The rise in violent crime overall began a year earlier and 2005-2006 together represent the first steady increase in crime since 1993, the FBI said.
Nashville has bucked the trend, with one exception: Robberies in 2006 have increased 3.1 percent, according to Metro Nashville Police Department statistics. A casual following of local television and print media headlines bears out that many businesses and individuals are being targeted by seemingly desperate individuals.
Why are these crimes on the rise now? It depends on whom you ask, but there appear to be a number of factors at work:
• Drug abuse, which has also been on the increase, particularly among teens, is often the motivation behind robberies.
• Gang activity is up and spreading from larger cities into suburbs and small towns, glamorizing street crime and guns for many young people.
• The juvenile justice system is not doing enough to keep kids from graduating from petty to violent crimes. On this point in particular, Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas has warned that the penalties in Tennessee's juvenile system are not severe enough to deter youths from moving on to armed robbery and other serious offenses.
• There are fewer police on the streets. In the 1990s, the federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program put an average $1 billion yearly into local law enforcement, adding 100,000 officers to agencies around the country and paying for updated crimefighting technologies. During the same period, crime rates fell nationwide.
In 2001, the new Bush administration began cutting funding to COPS and other state and local law-enforcement assistance programs.
• Loosening of gun restrictions has allowed criminals to boost their firepower as well as their brazenness in committing armed robberies. For example, the federal ban on sale of assault weapons, often the weapon of choice for gangs, was allowed by the president and Congress to expire in 2004 — one year before violent crime began to rise.
To its credit, the Tennessee General Assembly has passed the "Crooks with Guns'' law, which will increase prison terms for those convicted of using guns in committing felonies. The law takes effect in January; time will tell whether this will help reduce violent crime.
With all these factors at work, law-abiding citizens have good reason to be concerned about their safety and their possessions. But we must not be merely reactive, waiting and hoping the police can be the cure for crime. It's a familiar theme on this page, but particularly relevant here: The community must accept responsibility for the roots of its societal problems.
Each of us must foster the kind of civic and personal values that convince young people to stay away from crime. Parents must get involved in their kids' lives, and schools must look out for their students.
For neighborhoods that are hard-pressed economically, where drugs and gangs are prevalent, there are outreach groups for youth that are severely underutilized.
Law education, not law enforcement, should be the first resort.
