I don't know how I missed this article before, but if you want a pick-me-up, read the article below for the latest serious crime stats--down 20%--a 39-year low! Now, I know we're probably not going to go dancing in the streets at this news when we still have a lot of drug dealing going on around us, but it IS encouraging news that change is happening slowly and that the neighborhood is finally headed in the right direction with regard to serious crime:
Express Times Article by Daryl Nerl on Lowest Serious Crime Rate in 39 Years
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7 comments:
Just a short laundry list of comments on this story...
First, Butler Arms isn't at 13th and Butler. It is at either 14th or 15th. There are apartment complexes on both those corners. I'm not sure which is the Arms but I think its 14th.
Second, and it isn't my intent to be a wet blanket - I want things to continue to improve as well - but it scares me whenever I hear about these provisional plans that depend on short horizon funding opportunities, regardless of the source. Will we be keeping the force at 64 after stimulus cash dries up? If not, what does that portend for the future of the crime prevention programs?
Third, being the devil's advocate for a moment, why is 64 such a magic number? I have spoken to whom I believe to be sincere, dedicated officers, off the record, who believe that we have enough officers right now to monitor the city. In fact, we already had enough two years ago. I asked what then is the problem with issues on the street? I was told we have a top-heavy management structure on the force...too many department heads, titles and divisions and not enough foot soldiers on the beat. I see no reason not to take that explaination at face value.
It would be quite advantageous from my view to split the salary of two or three potential police salaries among three to four code enforcement officers and really attack the root of the majority of our crime problems: the festering, illicit activities eminating from loosley regulated rental housing. If we could leverage our ordinances more to discourage further strip-mining of our housing stock by unscupulous landlords; force them to make decisions on whether its worth fighting increased enforcement or simply sell and go someplace easier, we'd be much better off.
On the positive side, it looks like enough of the old guard on the force has retired or relocated so that the younger guys can feel a bit more confident addressing our issues as we see fit without looking over their shoulders. I am hearing much less complaining about officers treating the citizens like they are part of the problem (Move out of town if you don't like your block, etc.). If this isnt the case I'd like to hear from anyone who has had a problem recently.
Fourth and finally, the idea that getting to 64 miraculously gets us a "community policing" program needs to be carefully scutinized. I attended the community policing classes given by Michael Adams of Alert Partnership a number of years ago and was taught that it isn't about designating officers as "community policemen". It is a force-wide mentality - a cultural change - that must be adopted. We never had that when the force was at 64 the last time. We won't have it this time unless some mindsets have been drastically altered. I'd like to hear from someone who knows more about this initiative than me to see if I'm off base.
Dennis R. Lieb
Good points. While it's terrific that the crime rate has gone down, and credit must go to the officers making that happen, I have often wondered why, in a city only 5 miles square, the current 56 officers can't be patrolling everywhere at once and eradicating the majority of the drug dealers. I can only imagine that most of them are behind a desk. Does anyone know how many officers out of the 56 are actually on the street? We gained 15 bike officers recently, so even if the bike patrols are not constant, I'm sure those officers are in cars when they're not on bikes. I wonder what the total number of officers on the street is? Does anyone know?
I used to write about UCR results every year when I was a reporter at the Express (Times) and spent lots of hours with experts trying to understand how they should be interpreted. You cannot say that the crime rate has gone down with any certainty based on statistics. Crime statistics, by and large, are not really meant to be used for PR purposes and the city and by doing so, the city is using statistics for its own propaganda. The statistics are meant to be a measure of REPORTED crime, not actual incidents, and the how the numbers are reported vary widely across communities. That is, some communities include all incidents. Some report only solved crimes.
Anyway, while the statistics are interesting, its very misleading for the police department to use them as a measure of improvement to a neighborhood or safety.
From the FBI's website about how information should not be used from the Uniform Crime Report: "The America public relies on these data for information on the fluctuations in the level of crime from year to year, and criminologists, sociologists, legislators, city planners, the media, and other students of criminal justice use them for a variety of research and planning purposes. Since crime is a sociological phenomenon influenced by a variety of factors, the FBI discourages data users from ranking agencies and using the data as a measurement of law enforcement effectiveness."
While I'm much happier to see the rate go down than up, you make really good points. Thanks for posting.
I always cringe when police departments coiffeur up crime statistics in and of themselves as though it gives residents a clear and comprehensive picture of the nature of crime and trends in his or her community.
What is more offensive is the use of statistics for public relations purposes and political leveraging rather than for public interest.
The purpose of crime statistics is to link researched-based guidelines to outcomes resulting in a scientific approach to crime reduction that considers the social, economic, ecological and cultural dynamics that drive crime.
If Mayor Panto is serious about creating a ‘safe’ city he will insist on a well defined and credible approach to collecting and disseminating crime statistics that would not only properly inform the public, it would help steer the course of policing policies. Independent academic auditing boards, normally led by a criminologist, created to review statistics, reporting methodologies, errors (police not only make reporting mistakes they ‘fudge’ them) for propter analysis would be one example.
What is important about the report is not what is says but what it doesn’t say.
It does not examine unreported crime such that occurs every day but is collected by various agencies and hospitals. I field many calls of youth beaten, jumped and hospitalized, homes burglarized and property vandalized that will never be reported to the police. Does it fold in or consider statistics from these agencies, the Guardian Angels or Block Watch? Has EPD spoken to Latino 'gate keepers?' Many unreported crimes occur in the Latino population. Indeed, unreported crime may be on the rise, anecdotal and collected evidence seem to point in that direction.
It does not consider trends, particularly where gangs and open air drug markets are concerned, or how increased arrests will affect the correctional system, probation and eventually the future of our community.
It doesn’t weigh anecdotal evidence or track the patterns of GOA’s (Gone on Arrival) calls to narrow down areas where crimes are being committed frequently but where arrests are not made.
It has nothing to say about demographic changes in age, income, race or population or how the EPD will adjust to them or is reacting. Does the current economy have anything to do with our crime trends? What is the effect of a nearly all white police department on a multi-cultural community in terms of crime and perception of police?
The EPD has maintained that most of our crime was due to ‘criminal elements’ coming to Easton from other ‘cities.’ Is this true? Do the statistics prove out that most of the arrests are people who have residence elsewhere?
It justifies an agenda to feed the belief the city must have at all costs a larger police department as though that is the only solution. But what is the effect of family and school-based crime reduction strategies? Does the report help us examine or refine what policing for crime prevention looks like and how community crime prevention can be developed?
The report does little to explain to the public the nature of crime statistics and how they fit into a much more complex analysis of crime and prevention strategies. How does it give way to policy debates? What does it tell us about community involvement and impact?
Has focusing on more serious crimes led to an escalation of other crime? How will EPD examine the consequences of police strategies in context of the original intent?
This narrowly defined report is woefully inadequate in terms of giving residents and accurate picture of crime and trends and the impact of police strategies.
TVRM
I would like to hear from residents out there who are willing to post, rather than backchanneling me, as to how you feel police response has been lately to your calls. I have found it to be fast and generally positive lately and would like to know if others have notice an improvement in this aspect of EPD/resident relations. I have heard both good and bad from residents, more on the good end lately. Of course, Terrence is speaking to a much deeper level of response and these points are very important and well-taken. But I would like to hear from people on the general call and response issue--do you feel that it has improved?
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