Public Safety
We need Grownups in Law Enforcement.
President Trump has taken over law enforcement in Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital has an extremely high crime rate, and people avoid large areas at night. Members of Congress and their staff members were crime victims. Recently, one staff member was murdered.
The city is not part of any state. It is a district managed by the federal government. In recent years, they have attempted to reduce penalties for car theft and shift toward fewer police. Congress can and has overridden the city council’s actions. The President is the equivalent of a state governor for the district.
Washington’s crime problem is not unique to that city. Sadly, many cities have ignored the issue of public safety. The excuses are many, but the costs are high.
Our problems began when public officials neglected their duties, claiming they cared more than others.
I can, as an individual, break a rule in a particular case for a deserving individual and do no harm. I am being charitable on my own, spending my own money, and I am not setting a precedent. Suppose I am a public official and fail to enforce rules. In that case, I force others to be “charitable” with their money and set a precedent where those on the receiving end of my generosity expect it in future rulings.
Let’s look at an example. If I, as a baker, know a family is diligent but has hit tough times, I may arrange for some bread to “disappear” in their direction without payment. It is my choice, my charity. On the other hand, if someone else steals bread from my store, I want to have them arrested. They may be as worthy, but I have not made that choice. If people can steal from me without my permission, I will go broke.
My hope is that the judge understands his role. When someone urged Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. to do justice, he replied, "This is a court of law, not a court of justice." The scriptures are also clear. Leviticus 19:15 (NIV) says: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”
There is a natural desire to help the poor. If a desperate family steals food, why can’t the system overlook it? But it can’t. The baker or grocer is also feeding a family or many families. When the court bends the law, it sets a precedent, and others start to feel they should be able to steal. It goes from bread to hamburger to steak to computers to cars to … As I mentioned, the D.C. Council just tried to lower the penalties for car theft.
The other problem with a judge who does “justice” is that no one knows what the law is. The law says, “If you steal, this is the penalty.” The productive person spent time, money, and other resources based on that assumption. If the judge changes the law, every producer in that area will reconsider their commitment to that region.
The problem is far worse when it comes to violent crime. The notion that we should be more understanding of those who commit violent crimes is so absurd that only overeducated people could believe it.
The D.C. Council was also absurdly in love with the idea that the world would be better with fewer police. Heather MacDonald’s excellent The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe deals with that idea.
The idea that social workers trained in de‑escalating situations could replace police became fashionable. Law changes made officers personally liable for split‑second life‑or‑death decisions. Recruitment became difficult. Many officers took their big-city training and went to smaller, safer areas to work.
MacDonald called it the “Ferguson Effect.” Seeing that they would have no backing and risked imprisonment and financial ruin if they tried to do their jobs, many officers developed “blind eyes” and refused to intervene. Crime rates, including violent crime, exploded.
In her book, she explains the frustration of the people who live in high-crime areas and want and need active police protection. These law-abiding people don’t want to put their children in bathtubs to sleep at night to protect them from bullets. They see the police as an aid, not an enemy.
For them, “Law and Order” and “Public Safety” are not political slogans or racist code words. They dream of a life without the fear of theft and violence.