It's Watch!... Neighborhood Watch. Not shoot.

You tell me. That's a salient question. Are African-Americans arrested more often? Why? Also, do juries convict African-American suspects at a higher rate than other suspects?

In New York, for example, they're 9 times more likely to be stopped and frisked. Why? They don't commit nine times the crime.

 

You asked the question. You do the research and tell me.

 

The author of the article switches back and forth between percentage of crimes committed, and the volume of crimes committed, as it suits his needs.

Sure, the percentage of whites killed by other whites is about the same as blacks killed by other blacks. I would expect that to be true, as I posted earlier.

But, he wants to ignore that they're being killed at a much higher rate. isn't that important?

Then, he says whites commit more crimes than blacks. Well, sure. Whites make up a higher percentage of the population. Who wouldn't expect this to be true?

 

Again the most important statistic he does not site:
50 % of the murders are committed by 12% of the population.

 

Well, the answer given in the past by the NYPD was two-fold.

One, was that they were responding to crimes in which a description of a suspect was given. So, if the suspect in a crime is African-American, there's no point in frisking a white guy.

You might ask again about percentages. Well, again, most crimes are committed by people known to the victim. So, in a domestic violence case, the cops know who they're looking for.

But, in some of the most crime ridden neighborhoods of NYC, there are more crimes committed by unknown assailants, so the cops are working off of descriptions.

The other reason they gave had to do with their efforts to "get guns off the street". The now disbanded Street Crimes Unit tried to do just that.

Their officers were trained to look for people carrying a concealed weapon. They might look for a suspicious "bulge". They might look for baggy or heavy clothing, inappropriate for the weather -- like a hoodie in the summer time -- that could conceal a weapon. Or they might look at how someone was walking, for an indication he had a gun in his waste band.

They were very effective at getting unlicensed weapons off the street.

They concentrated on high crime areas, where they could make the most difference. Unfortunately, those neighborhoods also had a high concentration of African-Americans, so those frisked, often were African-Americans.

But, they also brought the crime rate way down. They made neighborhoods safe. Many people in the neighborhoods appreciated the efforts.

It's like asking the question of a criminal, why did you rob the bank? Well, because that's where the money is.

If you want to reduce crime, you have to go to the neighborhoods with high crime rates.

 

He's debunking the hyenas like O'Reilly for concern trolling "black-on-black" crime as part of their Trayvon Martin coverage. That's all he sets out to do.

 

Or simply profile minorities.

One of the two.

 

they were in answer to Sharpton and his pals railing about White on black crime

 

He should do a better job. The "hyenas" like O'Reilly re just responding to the race-baiters like Sharpton who have tried to make it out like an "African-American" is more likely to be killed in a white, gated-community, than in a majority African-American neighborhood.

They're playing up a "problem" that doesn't exist. And, ignoring a large problem.

It is an absolute tragedy that Martin was killed that night. But, it's not a part of a trend. It's not a part of a conspiracy. It is not a part of an agenda.

 

Well, that's the rub.

It is a question, I suppose about trading liberty for security.

I guess I would just say that the folks who are opposed to these policies get a lot of traction. Maybe rightly so.

But, what about the senior citizen who can no walk to the corner store, and not be in fear? What about the young mother who can bring her kids to the local park? What about the 14-year-old who doesn't have to worry about being "recruited" to join a gang?

We can debate whether it's right or wrong. But, we should bring all the facts to the table.

 

One more thought on this whole issue.

I've said before that neighborhoods on the West & South sides of Chicago are virtual killing grounds, where no one cares about the murders occurring on a daily basis.

Here's a couple of stories from just the last couple of days:

But, here's the thing: I should amend my statement that no one cares.

You know who does care? The homicide detectives care. They want to catch and arrest the criminals.

And, if you ask them what the biggest problem they have in putting these guys away is, what will they tell you?

Well, it's not racist prosecutors, judges, or juries. It's not a corrupt system that looks at crime through a racial lens.

The biggest problem they have is the reluctance of witnesses of crime to talk to them. The "no snitching" ethos is too strong in many neighborhoods.

And, it's not because they don't trust the cops, it's because it's seen as a betrayal among many to work with the cops against members of their own community.

How do you solve that problem? And, what can white cops, politicians, or citizens do to help? Anything?

 

www.huffingtonpost.com/hermene-hartman/pastor-occupies-roff-in-c_b_1117771.html

www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/thor-soderberg-stop-violence-march-vigil-protest-slain-cop-20100712

www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/south-siders-plan-arm-in-arm-protest-against-violence-20100625

news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=202553