7/10/21 How to Reduce Crime in America? Push for Some of these Solutions

The last time the U.S. got serious about crime, in 1994, it placed its focus on enforcement, and punishment drove up the rate of Americans stuck in prison. The senator who ran the ball on that attack on crime is now in the White House.

It's not the kind of thing you do twice, but Biden, so far, has not placed a lot of emphasis on tackling the rising crime rate of the 2020s. There've been suggestions for things that states should do, but not the kind of coordinated push that's now aimed at building roads, broadband systems, and electric charging stations.

Jordan Weissmann of Slate magazine says it's time for a new crime bill, and he thinks that Democrats "should cue up a more enlightened sequel full of popular ideas that will make communities safer without resorting to simply locking more Americans up."

Right now, the incidence of murders is rising, and fast, and the worst of it is in poor neighborhoods where many of them take place. Oddly, though, "Americans actually seem to agree with progressives that the best way to deal with crime right now is to address many of the underlying social problems that fuel it."

That gives Biden a rare opportunity. While gun regulation is unlikely to get past the Senate, a good many smaller, kinder initiatives could do a lot to help -- and to help immediately.

Here are some ideas taken from a longer list that was created by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

1) Money for summer jobs. Young men in their late teens, who are prone to committing violent felonies, would have work and some income. Tried as an experiment in Chicago in 2012, it had a dramatic, positive effect.

2) Money for drug rehab, which could break the connection between drug use and crime. More access to treatment means the entire community is better off. One study found that $1 in new drug-treatment spending saved $4 in crime-related expenses.

3) Money for streetlights. Experiments showed a 36% decrease in crime with improved lighting.

4) Money to send social workers along with police on mental-health and interaction-related emergencies. Almost two thirds of Americans think it would reduce violence.

5) Money for on-the-street mediators. Training citizens in how to diffuse arguments can keep them from becoming deadly.

6) Money for gun enforcement. The ATF has been starved for funds long enough to cripple operations.

7) Money for more and better police. It might put grit in the craw of some progressives, but there is evidence that more police presence helps cut crime -- assuming they're up to date, rather than trained to be gunslingers. Says Weissmann, "We could hire more officers, and fewer warriors."

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What do you think of these suggestions? Which ones strike you as the most promising? Do you have any experience with some of these efforts?

Have you heard from people who want to be tougher on crime? If the Democrats do take steps like those above, will the “be tough on crime” voices quiet down?

The article is well worth reading in full.

https://slate.com/business/2021/07/democrats-crime-bill-murder-rate-joe-biden.html