4 ms·

So which is the better solution? Throwing those 6-10 young men in jail or trying to ensure that those 6-10 young men are never motivated to commit armed robber

by slg 5y ago

So which is the better solution? Throwing those 6-10 young men in jail or trying to ensure that those 6-10 young men are never motivated to commit armed robbery? I think a lot of this discussion that is happening nationally about these specific crimes is happening outside the context of the specific neighborhood in which they are occurring. The few miles around Union Station are probably the densest population of homeless people in the country. People who have nothing to lose are much more likely to commit property crime. Maybe the problem here isn't that people are stealing property off trains. Maybe the problem is that there are thousands of people in that area in which stealing something off a train now seems like the best way to improve their life?

wolverine876 5y ago
> the densest population of homeless people in the country Do you have some data showing that homeless people commit more crime? That they are committing these crimes? What are the demographics of the criminals? For example, maybe it's organized crime, in which case the perpetrators probably aren't homeless. It's dangerous to stereotype and blame the 'other', people who happen to be homeless. IMHO, it's just raw prejudice. That's why we need data and facts, not assumptions that people unfamiliar (homeless, people with different skin colors, people of different economic situations) are a threat.
- slg 5y ago
  I never said homeless people are committing these crimes. Countless studies show the link between a lack of economic opportunity and property crime. Homelessness is a proxy for lack of economic opportunity in these communities. If you don't like homeless as that proxy, here[1] is a list of the median income of various LA county neighborhoods. Union Station is situated where Lincoln Heights, Chinatown, and Downtown meet. Those are ranked 250th, 263rd, and 265th out of the 265 neighborhoods that were ranked. These are incredibly poor neighborhoods, especially in terms of income inequality compared to the rest of LA. Either way, I thought it was clear I was not "blaming" the homeless or the poor for these crimes. I am trying to highlight that these crimes are a symptom of a larger problem in which the people in these neighborhoods are the victim. And if this were part of organized crime, that invalidates Union Pacific's entire point of blaming the lack of prosecution. The government is perfectly willing to go after organized crime. It is the lower level property crime that they are pushing back on prosecuting. [1] - https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/income/median/neighborhood/list/ https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/income/median/neighbo...

by slg 5y ago

wolverine876 5y ago

> the densest population of homeless people in the country Do you have some data showing that homeless people commit more crime? That they are committing these crimes? What are the demographics of the criminals? For example, maybe it's organized crime, in which case the perpetrators probably aren't homeless. It's dangerous to stereotype and blame the 'other', people who happen to be homeless. IMHO, it's just raw prejudice. That's why we need data and facts, not assumptions that people unfamiliar (homeless, people with different skin colors, people of different economic situations) are a threat.

slg 5y ago
I never said homeless people are committing these crimes. Countless studies show the link between a lack of economic opportunity and property crime. Homelessness is a proxy for lack of economic opportunity in these communities. If you don't like homeless as that proxy, here[1] is a list of the median income of various LA county neighborhoods. Union Station is situated where Lincoln Heights, Chinatown, and Downtown meet. Those are ranked 250th, 263rd, and 265th out of the 265 neighborhoods that were ranked. These are incredibly poor neighborhoods, especially in terms of income inequality compared to the rest of LA. Either way, I thought it was clear I was not "blaming" the homeless or the poor for these crimes. I am trying to highlight that these crimes are a symptom of a larger problem in which the people in these neighborhoods are the victim. And if this were part of organized crime, that invalidates Union Pacific's entire point of blaming the lack of prosecution. The government is perfectly willing to go after organized crime. It is the lower level property crime that they are pushing back on prosecuting. [1] - https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/income/median/neighborhood/list/ https://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/income/median/neighbo...