Luminary Malcolm Gladwell has been making the podcast rounds lately bringing to light the fallacy of the "defund the police" movement. The facts he's presented are as staggering as they are compelling. The big reveal is: "While Berlin has more than double the police officers of Los Angeles, Los Angeles has nearly four times as many people locked up in jail." In essence, there's a surprising correlation of "Less Police; More Incarceration." This is particularly interesting in light of how many of the "defund" people are budding or full blown DSA supporters as well, in spite of the fact that more Socialist Leaning Countries often have more police officers per-capita and far less people incarcerated per capita than we have in the US. The implication is that by having a larger force and one that's decidedly more community-embedded, citizens tend to remain more upright, and law-abiding, and that this, along with the social safety net, actually lowers the incarceration rate, dramatically. There are no-doubt other cultural and societal ills that contribute to America's higher criminality, for sure. But Gladwell's podcasts about the subject are really compelling and worth consideration. Gladwell along with many criminologists are pointing to this data as an echo of Gladwell's core argument: Berlin funnels its public safety budget heavily into upfront staffing (visible neighborhood police presence to deter crime), resulting in a significantly lower overall incarceration rate. Conversely, Los Angeles operates under a system with fewer local police per capita, but heavily funds massive correctional infrastructure to handle the backend influx of arrests. The Berlin vs. Los Angeles study is really remarkable and worth societal study and further discussion. And it's a pretty stern refutation of the Quixotic Fantasies of those advocating for LESS POLICE and eventually "no jails," which is, of course preposterous, and not a notion that's at all supported by historical study and deep dives into modern criminology.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in the interview process which resulted in hiring our current chief. He was clear then, and is clear now, that bad/ antisocial behavior is not ok. Granted that our mental health system stinks and has since at least when then governor Reagan closed the various psych hospitals promising to fund local clinics. That funding never happened and now our jails are the local clinics. Unfortunately the absence of boundaries seems to encourage people to just see how far they can go. To me none of this can be easily put in boxes like stating that DSA supporters are to blame. We all are. Finger pointing just gets one’s fingers tired. Ironically I bet the increased enforcement here will result in more incidents elsewhere.
"During the incident, the rider reached extremely high speeds and committed numerous traffic violations. His driving behavior was extremely egregious and posed a significant risk to public safety, including to himself, other motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians."
I am not hearing what the police are there for, if it is not to do their sworn duty. I am 100% behind the chief to do what he/she was hired for, and use their own judgment before matters get out of hand. What purpose would be served, if they were only allowed to stand on the street corner and shake a finger, saying Now-Now?
Sounds like they are doing a good job, considering the constraints they must work with.
Keep up the good work Sebastopol Police Department! Behind you 100%
Luminary Malcolm Gladwell has been making the podcast rounds lately bringing to light the fallacy of the "defund the police" movement. The facts he's presented are as staggering as they are compelling. The big reveal is: "While Berlin has more than double the police officers of Los Angeles, Los Angeles has nearly four times as many people locked up in jail." In essence, there's a surprising correlation of "Less Police; More Incarceration." This is particularly interesting in light of how many of the "defund" people are budding or full blown DSA supporters as well, in spite of the fact that more Socialist Leaning Countries often have more police officers per-capita and far less people incarcerated per capita than we have in the US. The implication is that by having a larger force and one that's decidedly more community-embedded, citizens tend to remain more upright, and law-abiding, and that this, along with the social safety net, actually lowers the incarceration rate, dramatically. There are no-doubt other cultural and societal ills that contribute to America's higher criminality, for sure. But Gladwell's podcasts about the subject are really compelling and worth consideration. Gladwell along with many criminologists are pointing to this data as an echo of Gladwell's core argument: Berlin funnels its public safety budget heavily into upfront staffing (visible neighborhood police presence to deter crime), resulting in a significantly lower overall incarceration rate. Conversely, Los Angeles operates under a system with fewer local police per capita, but heavily funds massive correctional infrastructure to handle the backend influx of arrests. The Berlin vs. Los Angeles study is really remarkable and worth societal study and further discussion. And it's a pretty stern refutation of the Quixotic Fantasies of those advocating for LESS POLICE and eventually "no jails," which is, of course preposterous, and not a notion that's at all supported by historical study and deep dives into modern criminology.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in the interview process which resulted in hiring our current chief. He was clear then, and is clear now, that bad/ antisocial behavior is not ok. Granted that our mental health system stinks and has since at least when then governor Reagan closed the various psych hospitals promising to fund local clinics. That funding never happened and now our jails are the local clinics. Unfortunately the absence of boundaries seems to encourage people to just see how far they can go. To me none of this can be easily put in boxes like stating that DSA supporters are to blame. We all are. Finger pointing just gets one’s fingers tired. Ironically I bet the increased enforcement here will result in more incidents elsewhere.
"During the incident, the rider reached extremely high speeds and committed numerous traffic violations. His driving behavior was extremely egregious and posed a significant risk to public safety, including to himself, other motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians."
Wow, maybe we should arrest the police chief!
Police Work:
Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
It'll never be a perfect circle.
I am not hearing what the police are there for, if it is not to do their sworn duty. I am 100% behind the chief to do what he/she was hired for, and use their own judgment before matters get out of hand. What purpose would be served, if they were only allowed to stand on the street corner and shake a finger, saying Now-Now?
Sounds like they are doing a good job, considering the constraints they must work with.
Gus St Marie