No one tracks crime and punishment more analytically than local political scientist Dr. Ernest Evans…
Evans predicted what would happen in St. Louis after the Michael Brown shooting on August 9, and his predictions have come sadly true. In the six-month period starting August 1, there have been 104 homicides in Saint Louis. In the six months prior there had been 57.
To explain the surge, Evans cites a concept known as “de-policing.” He observes that in the course of their work, police must inevitably use force against citizens in the course of enforcing the law, African Americans included. “And, as any veteran police officer can tell you,” says Evans, “there is no such thing as a ‘nice’ takedown. They all look terrible on camera.”
If police cannot be assured of a decent shake by the media and the politicians after a particular incident, says Evans, “Out of sheer self-survival they abandon the streets of black communities.”
Sensing the vacuum, gangs and sundry criminal elements fill it. A classic “de-policing” scenario unfolded in Cincinnati after a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager in May 2001.
The media responded as cravenly as is their wont.
So did the political class. And the cops got the message: “If accused of racism, forget about due process and fair media coverage.” The police pulled back, and the homicide rate exploded. Ironically, the victimization rate among non-blacks stayed pretty stable. Among blacks, it shot through the roof.
“The massive surge of violence in Saint Louis is due to the mishandling of the Ferguson tragedy by most of the nation’s journalists, politicians and political activists,” says Evans.
Although high-profile violence in downtown St. Louis has prompted Police Chief Sam Dotson to ask for help from the Missouri Highway Patrol, for Evans that can only be a temporary fix.
If Saint Louis wants to end the bloodbath in its black neighborhoods–and Kansas City wants to avoid one here–Evans has a prescription: “The city’s political class must affirm that ours is a nation of laws and that everyone will get due process if accused of a crime–and that ‘everyone’ includes white cops accused of racism.”
That “political class” starts at the top with the president, the attorney general, and the Missouri governor. If there is a Missouri politician with the backbone to confront them, I am not sure I know who that is.
Rich Steele is a citizen journalist and head of the NSAAS (Non-Smokers Against Anti-Smoking).
Dead on the money.
Dr. Evans has, for the last couple of years posted stats, opinions and insights that are prescient and informative. Our local Kleptocrats would do well to follow his advice or we will all suffer the consequences.
“De-policing” sounds alot like strong-arming by the FOP if you ask me. Name one officer that hasn’t gotten a fair shake and due process? Last I checked Darren Wilson went before a Grand Jury and the decision was made not to proceed with charges. The Justice Department conducted an investigation and decided not to proceed with charges. Where did he not get due process or a fair shake? The media? Too bad, do your job or find a new one. Since there is two sides to every story there are plenty of people who think they didn’t get a fair shake in the media.
Yeah, mistaken mike, I came out like a champ. A real walk in the park. Had to move, death threats, lost my job with no severance, my family lived in fear of that pesky “Hands Up” crowd while Eric Holder sent 42, count ’em, 42 Federal Investigators to look for ANY possible way that I could be railroaded in a George-Zimmerman-Star-Chamber and subsequently sent off to prison to atone for my sins.
Anyone, who thinks I got a fair shake and received due process is sporting a room temp IQ and needs to be watered twice a day.
We would have loved to “doctor” the 911 calls on this one too.
(Sigh)
🙁
I know how you feel, NBC, but we did our best. Just hang in there until the next white sacrifice comes along.
If nothing else, we did get those 2 cops killed in New York.
I have to be careful with my reply. Dwight Sutherland Jr, might actually believe Darren Wilson is relplying here, and I don’t want to spout pious platitudes.
So I respectfully decline to engage your comment. I’d love to, I really would. Joe Paterno and Donald Sterling would probably have something to say. But Dwight Sutherland Jr. most likely believes you are really Darren Wilson.
Your boy, Eric would be proud of you.
Now Eric Holder is the top man at DOJ, the largest, most powerful law enforcement agency in the world. DOJ includes the FBI, BATF (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms), and DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), has 114,000 employees, and a budget of $27 billion. It has gained 9,000 employees during Mr. Holder’s tenure. DOJ ladles out hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to police departments, so it has great power over local law enforcement as well.
Since Mr. Holder has run the department, 56 percent of all the lawyers it has hired have come from just four lefty organizations: the ACLU, National Council of La Raza, NAACP, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights. Many of these lawyers make no secret of their view that anti-discrimination laws do not protect whites.
The division harasses and tries to sideline conservative or Republican lawyers. Robert Popper, who was the deputy head of the division and white, was repeatedly kept out of deliberations because he wanted to enforce the law in a racially neutral way. He resigned in 2013.
Iloveamerica, your thought leaders fear for your safety in a rainstorm. If you look up, you will drown.
You must have me confused with somebody else. I am very consistent in my views on governmental overreach. See http://www.kcconfidential.com/2015/01/09/sutherland-crime-punishment-on-grand-boulevard/#comments
To understand my jab at Dwight Sutherland Jr.
Greetings to my fan club!! Mr. Chuck, thanks for your nice compliments!! Mr. Mike: Actually, you have a point: There are not a huge number of cases of cops being denied due process in police shootings; but that is simply because, First of all, the idea that there are an enormous number of police-caused shootings is erroneous. Although exact figures are hard to come by, the best estimate is that 95-98% of cops will never use deadly force in the course of their career. And, the best estimates are that there are about 400 police-caused fatalities a year; of which about 150 are young black men. For purposes of comparison, in 2013 there were over 6,000 (mostly young) black men killed in homicides–93% by other young black men. Now, that is not to say that police shootings are not worthy of concern, but it is important to get a clear understanding that police-caused fatalities are a tiny percentage of the homicides of young black men. The media has massively quoted a study that shows that young black men are 21 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than young white men; when you first hear that statistic you think that thousands of young black men die at the hands of cops ever year; the real number, as I said, is about 150. Secondly, remember that everyone knows about the disasterous race riot in LA in 1992 in which 52 people died. This riot broke out when a jury acquited the four LAPD cops in the Rodney King video. (For the record, I do not think that they should have been acquited.) So, whenever a video surfaces that makes a local cop appear to be racist most localities quickly move to “defuse” the controversy by firing the cops and paying off the victim (s) so as to avoid a trial–and that is another reason why there are not a lot of convictions of cops of racist misconduct–cities live in mortal terror of high-profile trials of police officers for conduct deemed to be racist because they cannot guarantee that the jury will convict. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
PS: One final comment to my fan club. Remember, to make a point of intimidation large numbers of victims are not always necessary. As the great Chinese strategist Sun Tzu used to say: “Kill one, terrify 10,000.” There are just enough cases each year of cops being railroaded by the media and the PC Police to cause a lot of “de-policing.” Take care!! Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
Had to add one interesting set of crime stats about Saint Louis: A research group that ranks cities in terms of their homicides per capita has just released its list of the “50 Most Violent Cities in the World.” Four US cities on the list: No. 40: Baltimore No. 28: New Oreleans No. 22: Detroit No. 19: Saint Louis. I noticed that, unlike the situation as far back as I can remember, the nation’s newspapers did not have any articles in early January 2015 about what city should be designated the current “Murder Capital of America.” As the Communists used to say: “This is no accident.” The fact that Saint Louis is now “The Murder Capital of America” is a major embarrassment to most of the nation’s journalists, politicians and political activists because they are responsible for it having this dubious distinction. Take care!! Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
Those cops have it so easy. Quit whining and get back to your do-nuts!!
http://fox2now.com/2015/01/30/shocking-shoot-out-video-evidence-puts-man-behind-bars-for-40-years/
Uhhhh…. less than a cop a week is killed in America. Not saying its a “safe” job, but definitely not as “dangerous” as they’d have you believe.
The problem is that many blacks think they no longer have to abide by the law. They are being led by ‘people’ such as Alfred Sharpton who has been successful in doing just that.
St Louis has a little different situation, as it is in the process of acquiring control of its police force. During the Pendergast era, Jefferson City was given control of the police in St. Louis and Kansas City to curtail graft and corruption. St Louis has recently wrested control from Jefferson City. Actually Kansas City saw harder riots in the 68/69 era with the death of Martin Luther King. It is not enough to promise justice and retribution for all, it must be enforced as such, and, even then, it is going to hurt. Nobody has yet to address black on black violence, and we are seeing an escalation that has little to do with race and more to do with law enforcers versus law breakers, from adolescents being bored to teenagers testing the bounds of new-found freedoms. Many of us tested those bounds, but were lucky enough to know the limits. What was discovered in Ferguson is the simple fact that there are boundaries that once crossed, cannot be revisited. The law has to be enforced with equal protections under the law. It doesn’t matter what color the outlaw or the law officer are, the absence of law is not something anyone wants.
Dear Mistaken Mike: In 2014 114 cops were killed in the line of duty. Now, you are right that other professions can be dangerous–as we saw from the brutal murder of a number of journalists by ISIS. But a lot of cops do die in the line of duty, and that fact must be acknowledged. Sincerely and Respectfully, Ernest Evans
You are very intelligent Ernest. Are you counting K9’s, heart attacks, and training accidents among your 114? I believe you are. Actual homicides of police officers in shootouts was below 50. Less than one a week. Now an officer that is training for the job and has a heart attack and dies, that is irrelevant to the discussion of the danger of the job. In my opinion anyways. Same with K9’s I love dogs, but they aren’t human officers.
Dear ILove America: The stat 114 includes cops killed in shootouts, in traffic wrecks while pursuing suspects, in accidents while saving people, etc. There are a lot of ways to die in the line of duty without being shot. On 9/11 76 cops were killed rescuing people at the twin towers–none died of gunshot wounds. One of those who died was Off. Moira Smith of the NYPD–she went in and out of the Twin Towers ten times bringing out injured people–on the last time she was seen going in to help a woman who had collapsed in an seizure. She was never seen alive again. Next time you attack cops ask yourself: Would I go into a building about to collapse to save someone I didn’t know? No, not all cops are heros–but a lot are. Orwell put it best when he said: “People sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men walk the streets prepared to do violence on their behalf.” Sincerely, Respectfully and In Christ, Ernest Evans
Dear I Love America: I am very sorry that I “jumped down your throat” in my response to your posting. I mentioned the late Off. Moira Smith of the NYPD. Her birthday is soon, and in memorian there have been some article and posting about her. I had just read an article about her daughter–who was two when her Mother died on 9/11. It has been terribly, terribly hard for her to grow up without a Mother to guide her, and I was just really upset. So, again, sorry to have been so harsh in my reply. Take care and God bless. Sincerely, Respectfully and In Christ, Ernest Evans