FeedCrime down, murder up
January 4, 2007 in Overset
Question: Why is it that even though the crime rate overall is down for Peoria, we’ve got unsolved murders out the wazoo.
Answer: We’ll it could be that the
My two cents: Ask anyone who’s active in neighborhood issues south of War Memorial Drive and they’ll tell you they’d rather see police arrest street level knuckleheads that any of the so-called “drug lords” who make decisions behind the scenes.
I’m all for anything that disrupts the gangs and casual criminal. Peoria needs to make itself user unfriendly to those who are determined to behave in an anti-social manner, and that includes everything from running open-air drug markets, street-corner prostitution to litter bugs who toss empty beer bottles in their neighbors’ yards.
Arrests don’t matter. Convictions don’t matter. What matters is the disruption in “enemy” activity. Arrests and convictions are just one means to that end. They are not the end itself.
In this way, the roving “saturation” sweeps can be considered successful, in that street criminals can’t consider any neighborhood really a safe place to operate. No one’s thinking these things will solve Peoria’s problems. And no one seriously thinks it’s time to do away with Problem Oriented Policing — POP officers — who work in specific neighborhoods. They are just too popular in the neighborhoods they now served.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
The problem is that POP basicly proves they need more officers. Where they allocate sufficient numbers of officers (ie saturation) all is good but that leaves everywhere else short. The chief is making do with what he has and seems to be doing good with it but the reality as I see it, is there just are not enough.
Why do we even call it saturation anyways? It would seem to me that saturation would imply having way more than necessary. What is really going on is that where ’saturation’ occurs we really are actually achieving and providing the basic service people expect.
January 5th, 2007 at 7:35 am
I’m not sure I’d agree that “sufficient numbers” equals “saturation”. There are times where more are needed in specific areas and less in other areas.
January 5th, 2007 at 9:15 am
I think you are living in dream land Billie. Personally I did not really think anyone was stupid enough to belive the falling crime numbers that the chief likes to throw around. Walk into any local shop and ask the people what they think about crime and listen to what you hear. Petty crime numbers are down becase most people dont even wast their time calling the police. An officer told me last week that he figures about 1 out of 10 cases of shots fired actually get called in. Living in an area with a high number of shots fired I find that number easy to belive. As to your logic of busting low level dealers, what exactly do you think that will fix. I can point out crack houses that have been in opperation for years. If the police shut down the home, the gangs have new people in selling within a day. But yes Billie crime is down and the chief has the statistics to prove it. Who was it that said “we have lies, damn lies, and statistics”.
January 8th, 2007 at 2:04 am
Until some windfall funding come in for hundreds of new officers citizens will have to get more involved. I.E. active calling on community and family members to speak up. Bet you 9:1 some one knew these shooters in every case were packing. Someone decent law abiding relatice aunt, uncles, people they would have listened to but no one called them on the carpet, no one challenged anyone. Sad Bill Rutherford was right sometimes silence isn’t golden sometimes it is just plain yellow