mis-kin

[mis-kin]

Battling American Violence September 8, 2021Uncategorized A National Policy Blueprint To End White Supremacist Violence - Center for  American Progress We have an epidemic of violence here in the US – mostly gun violence but there are other types – and more policing is not the answer as I will detail for you from online commentary by Paige Fernandez and Taylor Pendergrass of the ACLU. As many have said before and are still saying, we must defund and demilitarize American police in order to stop the needless deaths of Black and Brown people, as well as members of the LGBTQ community. But we must invest in other resources first, which will stem the rising tide of violence in neighborhoods across the nation. Allocate the monies that would go to more policing – which is not helping to stop the violence in this country – towards education, gun control, housing, health care, job programs, and violence interruption programs (which have been proven to decrease violence in at-risk communities). In Philadelphia, simply cleaning vacant lots in neighborhoods below the poverty line resulted in a 29% decrease in gun assaults.* Another study found that each community-focused non-profit in a medium-sized city led to a decrease in homicide of 12%, in violent crime of 10%, and in property crime of 7%. More police will not bring about a reduction in violence. Police typically deal with violence only after someone has already been killed, injured, or otherwise harmed. Even then, many police departments are alarmingly ineffective at holding anyone accountable for violent crimes, as reflected by low “clearance rates” (whether any suspect is ever charged for a reported crime). For example, a recent study found Chicago has a homicide clearance rate of about 40 percent, which drops to just 22 percent when the victim is African American.* Wasting more money on law enforcement is not proven to reducing violent crime. The uniquely American dependence on police as first responders to every social problem is the product of decades of reliance on antiquated and disproven theories about safety, the fearmongering of powerful police lobbyists, and policymakers’ racist support for devastatingly harmful militarized policing in communities of color. Policing as a one-size-fits-all solution to violence is simply a bad and dangerous policy choice made by elected officials — one they now have a responsibility to correct.* APA's Advocacy on Gun Violence Prevention There is no connection between larger police budgets and violence reduction even though this country has seen increases every year in law enforcement spending. In fact, the cities of Fresno, Houston, Nashville and Tulsa all increased police budgets for 2020 – and all four cities had an increase in homicides. (Why do you think The First 48 spent so much time in the 2nd & 4th cities?) Most experts blamed the higher murder rates on the Covid pandemic, financial stress, skyrocketing gun sales, and lower funding for community resources – not a lack of police funding. But when community resources are decreased, violent crimes tend to escalate. This happens mainly in communities of color, which are far poorer and in need of services more so than White neighborhoods, which tend to be more affluent. In addition to long-term investments in social infrastructure, “violence interruption programs” — community-driven interventions to prevent or peacefully resolve conflict — are proving remarkably effective. For example, in Baltimore, directly impacted staff and volunteers of the Safe Streets Program engage in conflict resolution and connect people to services and resources. Since last June alone, the group has peacefully resolved over 400 conflicts without police, 70% of which involved a gun.* You may find it hard to believe – it’s difficult for me – but statistics prove that the American murder rate has actually decreased over the decades, despite what all those shows on ID might seem to reveal. In 1980, the homicide rate was an average of 10.2 per every 100,000 people. In 1990, the percentage had dropped to 9.8 and in 2020, it was only 6.5 for every 100,000 people. It was only 4.8 in 2010! Example: New York City’s homicide rate is down 2.4% compared with last year, and the violent crime rate overall is down as well. Community Resources / Community Resources The data proves that police officers spend more than a third of their time responding to non-emergency calls, and more than 80% of the arrests made are for low-level, non-violent criminal acts, such as possession of marijuana, loitering, or disorderly conduct which can mean almost anything. Police spend just 4% of their time and make only 5% of arrests on the more serious (violent) infractions. Why are they not spending more time and resources on solving rapes and murders, for instance? Why are they so focused on driving around minority neighborhoods even when there is nothing going on in said areas? This is why so many Black and Brown people have no trust of law enforcement, in addition to the brutality and racism they perpetrate against our citizens. If they spent more time and money investigating violent crimes, there probably would be no need for shows such as Cold Case Files. Violence is caused by many different things, including poverty, alcohol, guns, interpersonal conflict, unmet mental health and social needs, juvenile trauma, and more. It is no wonder then that relying on a single approach — policing — has not worked in the past and is not going to work to meet the moment now. Reducing violence is difficult and takes time, but the solutions are not mysterious. To see them in action, just look at a nearby affluent (likely majority white) neighborhood or community. You’re likely to find a neighborhood where people have stable, well-paying jobs and access to well-funded public services, experience little violence, and have a fairly small police force that responds only when it is wanted. Instead of fully and equitably funding all these same approaches in low-income communities and communities of color, we overfund police year after year after year. – 10 Things to Know about Combating Violence in America* Tips for Finding Community Resources for the Elderly We really must allocate the money wasted on additional police officers, for example, and use that funding to build community resources in areas impacted by poverty, crime, and lack of adequate housing. If people have safe housing, access to jobs and training, and after school programs, this helps with keeping our youth out of gangs and other violent activity, helps with keeping mentally ill and disabled people off the streets, and perhaps even cuts down on drug use because people will have something to occupy their time other than chasing a never-ending high. When people feel that there is someone who cares about them and their well-being, they are more apt to engage in positive pastimes. I know this from working for a non-profit and two different law firms as well as my own research.#AmericanRiots、#HumanRights

[mis-kin]

#AmericanRiots、#HumanRights