Running racism in America thread

This story doesn't entirely answer the question but provides some helpful info:

Camden disbanded its police department and built a new one. Can others learn from it?

In 2011, state budget woes led to almost half the department’s approximately 400 officers being laid off under then-Gov. Chris Christie. A period of devastating crime followed, with the city of fewer than 80,000 people logging a record 67 homicides in 2012.

In other words, the layoffs led to more homicides. There were 52 in 2011, and 67 in 2012.

Here's a nugget about the funding in Camden:

The budget for the new police force, which like the old one depends heavily on state aid, ended up millions higher that first year than what the city had planned to spend, and it has continued to grow. Camden budgeted $68.45 million last year for police. Paterson, a North Jersey city with almost double Camden’s population, estimated its annual police costs at $44.72 million.

In other words, yeah, using this model costs money. A lot of it. The very opposite of defunding.

I'm for some of the techniques Camden uses. I'm for less guns being used. I'm for demilitarizing the police. But reform won't be cheap and there will be trade-offs.

 

I agree. That is one of the reasons I don't think we should just assume he wanted to kill a black guy and move on. I get that some people don't want to hear that right now, but the truth matters. It also might actually get that first-degree charge so many seem to want.

 

Couldn't homicides have gone up because the economic situation in the city / state was so bad that it required 400 police officers to be laid off? I would assume that the crime rate spikes anyway during economic downturns. A more relevant example would be if a major city *willingly* did a big downsizing of its police force in the past, for non-economic reasons. I doubt that's happened anywhere in the U.S. recently, which is why Camden is being brought up as the closest comparison point.

 

I agree with you. I'm not suggesting that at all. This isn't about Floyd's actions. It is about Chauvin's motivation. Perhaps he had caused issues between the two at the club. Perhaps he just didn't like Floyd. Hell, maybe he did show racism in previous dealings with Floyd. That is absolutely relevant.

 

Three star general writes about being black in America.

https://taskandpurpose.com/opinion/vincent-stewart-racism-black-lives-matter

 

Another one that ties Trumpists in knots.
He's one of our Heroes in Uniform, but he thinks Black Lives Matter.
On second thought, this is not a tough one for Trumpists. He's not a real Amurrican to them.

 

Do police union bosses really think the status quo is the way to go? Lawsuits, more deaths, civil unrest, more bad cops on the street, less accountability and transparency and taxpayers should just be okay with it as the price of doing business?

How Cities Offload the Cost of Police Brutality - CityLab

 

Long, but interesting read

 

I mean - sure. It's possible. The homicides had been going up in years prior. It was post-2008, so I suppose that's possible.

It's worth noting that the previous high for murders in Camden before 2012 was 1995. As the crime bill was kicking in.

I find it unlikely that everything but the economy is a coincidence. I find it odd that murders nationwide went up post-Ferguson. So in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Was the economy unusually bad at that moment?

 

Oh, bull. I'm posting stories and taking hard data from journalism. Do whatever you want with them.

I'm not particularly pro-cop. I'm pro-reality, though. Which means, you know, there are trade-offs to enforcement decisions.