Greetings,
I would like to address the recent posting regarding
the success of CODEFOR in the City of Minneapolis.
First of all, the reputed success of COMPSTAT in New
York, initiated under Mayor Giuliani, is by no means
indisputable. In support of this assertion, I would
cite studies done at Harvard, the University of
Pennsylvania, the City of Philadelphia, Seattle,
and by the Council on Juvenile Justice in the City
of San Francisco. In this last instance, San Francisco
actually enjoyed a higher reduction in criminal
activity than did NYC. This was accomplished not
through targeting livability (or low-intensity level)
types of crime, but through a combination of creative
strategies in the Court system, housing services,
homeless outreach, Mental Illness training and
outreach, and neighborhood organization. If anyone
cares to read about this in more detail, a cursory
search on the web will yield a study entitled,
"Shattering Broken Windows". Further information
on related strategies may be found for the city of
Philadelphia, as well as, for Seattle, Philadelphia
and other Metropolitan areas.
The decline in crime rates is not a localized
phenomenon, it is a nation-wide and not clearly
understood trend. In support of this lack of clarity,
one can reference the Minneapolis City Attorney's
5 year Business Plan: Therein, on page 5 under
"Significant Trends", paragraph 2, the following
passage may be found;
"The number of criminal cases is declining. In
CY 2003 the Criminal Division handled 35,393 cases:
In contrast, the Office handled 43,961 cases in CY
2002; 44,970 cases in CY 2001; 51,808 cases in CY
1999 and 63,887 in CY 1998. It is unclear why this
caseload decline has occurred or whether it will
continue."
Similar commentary can be found in UCR data
reports throughout most (not all) metropolitan areas
of the US. Articles in journals, periodicals and
scholarly studies abound and are easily found on
the net and in any Public Library.
It is very odd that we need to remind ourselves
of the intimate connection between poverty and
criminal activity. The loss of hope, hunger,
homelessness...these things have long driven people
toward criminal behavior. Mental Illness and substance
dependency and abuse also contribute to 'livability'
crime rates. This is an observation older than the
Hills.
If implementation of the Broken Windows model
were such a clear-cut deterrant to livability
offenses,
why is it that in the neighborhood of 70% of all
people listed on the NPA (No permanent address) list
of the MPD appear year after year after year. Would
it not follow that they would most likely commit
a more serious offense and end up in prison? In fact,
continual arrests for livability ordinance and Statute
offenses during 2003-2004 provided little apparent
deterrant at all for the top 100 offenders on the
NPA list...only 2 are now incarcerated...most continue
to cycle in and out of jail, detox, shelters, Mental
Illness treatment facilities...with no resolution
(and at an enormous cost to the Public) in sight.
The Broken Windows model may work, in part, but it
is by no means a universal panacea.
Another troubling aspect of the CODEFOR
implementation is the huge racial disparity which
occurs. In 2002 the Council on Crime and Justice
completed its Racial Disparity Initiative at the
behest of the City. This was followed up on in a
subsequent report on Low-Intensity Level Offenses
(livability crime) in the City of Minneapolis. This
report was completed in November of 2004-both reports
are also available on-line. In this study, examining
moving violations, Loitering, Lurking and other
'livability' crimes, 75% of all those arrested were
African-American. An African-American male is 16 times
more likely to be stopped than a caucasian male.
Literally millions of dollars have been expended
on achieving some sort of articulation and at least
a modicum of equity...but the problem continues.
Native Americans receive an even higher level of
attention.
In summation, the assertion that the "Broken
Windows Model" provides (or has provided) all the
answers to an increasingly complex set of issues...
is hardly incontestable. Minneapolis needs to
explore an homegrown version of homeless outreach,
strategies for dealing with the Mentally Ill, public
Housing, of dealing with diversity. This effort
needs to involve the MPD, the City Attorney,
advocates,
neighborhoods, housing service providers, and Public
Officials.
In fact, the foundation for just such a work-
group exists in the newly formed "Downtown Council
Work-Group" initiated by Commissioner Mclaughlin,
and chaired by Judge Hopper. The members of this
group-though disagreeing on details-share a common
desire to improve our response to livability crime.
Deputy Chief Lubinski, Judge Hopper, Natalie Johnson-
Lee, Commissioners Dorfman and Mclaughlin, CM
Niziolek, Mental Health providers, Homeless Outreach
people, District Court Staff, Shelter Providers,
and a number of others will be working to articulate
a more effective way of dealing with our livability
crime problems in the downtown area.
Poverty and crime, once more, are very intimately
related. From my viewpoint, incarceration of the
Mentally Ill, people of color, the disenfranchised...
is an approach unbecoming of a just and humane
society.
Guy Gambill
Uptown
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