Jim Graham says: And Margaret, more and better policing should not equal more harassment of the homeless. Just the opposite. Being homeless is not a crime and the homeless should not be treated as criminals. We do not have a shortage of real criminals to take up the time of police officers.
Minneapolis needs a lot more beef and a whole lot less bull. My response: Although I don't presume to speak for Margaret, I believe that Jim has a point; however, his conclusion doesn't necessarily follow from that point. Better policing doesn't necessarily mean more police. The city of Minneapolis has spent a great deal of money on lawsuits resulting from police misconduct. Perhaps if the police spent their time focusing their efforts differently (and NOT directing those efforts at, say, the homeless), we wouldn't need more police. Jim, you might also want to check out Jeanne Massey's posting. Jeanne quotes several studies worthy of attention in this regard. One example is the PERF study that "identifies several myths commonly held concerning what makes a good police department. These myths include, for example, 'A higher ratio of police officers to citizens means higher quality police service.' PERF states succinctly, 'Nothing could be farther from the truth.' The number of police officers per 1,000 population 'ignores the diversity among communities' socio-economic structures, their use of public services, the nature of their crime problems and the expectations that a community has of its police agency.'" These are complex issues, and we need to sort them out as a community. North Minneapolis deserves a well thought-out solution-- not a hasty conclusion--to an escalating and complex problem. Liz McLemore REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
