OK, so now we've seen one person try to refute the only available facts about crimes with an anti-statistics argument. To which I would respond that without statistics, modern science is impossible. That is why everyone from an accountant to a physicist has to gain mastery in statistics. It is for measuring events and presenting data in meaningful ways. The alternative to statistics is not facts but anecdotes. And the anecdotes about crimes tend to be both fuzzy and emotional. That may win some battles in politics, but politics seldom solve crime problems. But, then, the people who prefer anecdotes often want sympathy more than help, and they tend to get what they want.
The complaint was that comparing one month to the same month in the previous year is not suitable. But the fact is that corporations compare quarters to previous quarters all the time. The different sets of data you choose for comparison do make a difference, but I would guess if I presented a year-to-year comparison, I would get the same objections. The real problem is that the assembled data don't fit some people's preconceived notions, so naturally we must sacrifice the data and never ask for any adjustment of the notions. As to Part II crimes, a lot of those crimes are artificial creations by government policy. You don't get pushers in your alleys for, say, Prozac because the decision was that pharmacies would be able to legally sell it. The reason you have people lurking in your alleys selling the drugs they do sell is simply a consequence of social policy by reactionary politicians. And I do mean reactionary, since they are opposed by William F. Buckley and Milton Friedman. And one of those people is the gambling addict, William Bennett. If you really want to know why you have this plague, look at the emotional and stupid decision to make these substances, which are no more dangerous than Paxil, illegal. Again, if Paxil were targeted by social policy, you'd just find some of the same people selling that in your alleys or along Franklin. It occurs to me that the "neglect" some people feel in South Minneapolis is perhaps a reflection of consciousness by the police that they could fight this battle for centuries and never win it. There is a call on right now to seriously raise the tax on tobacco. But that is bringing a warning that a serious raise will simply insure bootlegging. And bootlegging will lead to more draconian enforcement, and we'll be off and running again. So, the way to fight quantification is not with rationalizing but with better quantification. And until that happens, the claim that there is a "flood" of crime will not convince many people. Jim Mork Cooper Neighborhood ---------------- Jim Mork Minneapolis MN Bush's "Free Iraq": Cholera, no drinking water. And we SHOOT you if you complain! TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
