Good news from Charm City. Justin Fenton of the Sun describes the impact of one police unit. If all this is police’s doing, and it might be, note just how much 250 officers can accomplish (out of a police force of less than 3,000 in a city of 650,000 people).
Month: October 2008
Victory is Near!
The Agitator has a good post looking at how failure doesn’t stop our drug warriors from claiming success. The news is always good in the Bizarro World of prohibitionists.
Prohibition
But the old-fashioned kind. Against alcohol. In Alaska. Of course it doesn’t work. Prohibition never does. Alcohol abuse and alcohol-related crime is a huge problem in small-town Alaska. After the drinking comes the sexual abuse and rape, often incestuous. A friend of mine is a public defender up there. Oh, the stories he can tell. You know, of good honest…
What do we think about “shame'”?
America is more of a “guilt” culture than a “shame” culture. What does that mean? Guilt is something you feel. Shame is what you feel based on what othersfeel toward you. We want our criminals to feel remorse. That’s guilt. Ashamed to show your face in public because your grandma will think less of you? That’s shame. Culturally, if you…
I was talking to Charles Rangel
I was. Last night. On the night train coming back from Boston. I met Charles Rangel in the cafe car. I was chatting with the cafe man and drinking a beer. Here is one of the most powerful men in America. Taking the night train. Tired. No entourage. Willing to talk. We did. He knew my father a little bit.…
The economy and crime
Does a tough economy mean more crime? Not necessarily. Good policing is more important, sez me. Here’s the story in the New York Times.
Your consitutional rights
I have advocated that all drug defendants demand jury trials. It’s a constitutional right. It would end the war on drugs. That is kind of sort happening on a small scale. Here’s the story in the Sun. Our system of justice is broken.
Crime or no Crime?
Peter Hermann of the Baltimore Sun has an interesting article about discharges… that is, shots fired but nobody hit. No harm, no foul.
Back on Leonard Lopate Monday
Apparently I’m going to be on the radio again Monday. But this time I can actually listen to what I say. It’s a rerun.
Mass cops protest
Why not have road construction flagmen be cops? Yes, it’s a bit of a scam. But police have to make overtime some way. And better to pay a cop than pay a union private construction employee. Without this overtime, I wonder if arrests will increase. Read about it in the Boston Herald.