4 ms·

It seems crazy to me to start the reform of the system from this end by lowering the jail population and laxer prosecution. I'd think that keeping the law & enf

by omega3 4y ago

It seems crazy to me to start the reform of the system from this end by lowering the jail population and laxer prosecution. I'd think that keeping the law & enforcement as is and targeting the underlying systemic causes - war on drugs, unemployment, lack of opportunities etc would be more sensible.

nostromo 4y ago
Can we stop pretending the war on drugs is sending large amounts of people in California to jail? It’s not the 80s / 90s anymore. It’s very difficult to end up in jail anywhere on the west coast due to run of the mill drug possession.
- omega3 4y ago
  I think you are right where it comes to possession. According to the 2018 report [0] only 4.1% were in prison for drug related crimes. It would be interesting to see how many of the other categories (burglary, murder, possession of a weapon etc) are directly linked with drug trade or drug use. [0]https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/174/2020/01/201812_DataPoints.pdf https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/17...
digianarchist 4y ago
One takes far more political capital than the other. A DA has direct and immediate influence over prosecutions. Violent crime dropped on his watch. Although thefts are up [0]. The stats show it. Very disappointing result. [0] - https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-07/2022-san-francisco-district-attorney-chesa-boudin-recall-election-results?_amp=true https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-07/2022-san...
- samatman 4y ago
  Which department in San Francisco releases statistics on violent crime and who heads it?
  - digianarchist 4y ago
    The FBI reports crime stats under the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
civilized 4y ago
Simple general comment here, no political valence intended - 13% of the adult male population and 33% of the black adult male population have felony convictions [1]. A felony record is still a scarlet letter in employment and other areas of society. So whatever's causing it, whatever we do about it, this is a huge weight on the male population and on black males in particular. We can't seriously attempt to address racial issues in the US without addressing this. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996985/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996985/
crispyambulance 4y ago
The problem, unfortunately, is that no one knows how to actually solve the underlying systemic causes. The only thing that works, partially IMHO, is periods of "broken-window-theory" policing followed by gentrification, healthy streets, and mixed use development. If residents value their communities, they will take care of them physically, economically, and socially. This was explored a lot in a classic work by Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities). It's still a relevant read and informs much of new urbanist thinking.
- zozbot234 4y ago
  Unfortunately, "gentrification" has literally become a four-letter word among Progressive activists. And that even more clearly the case in SF than anywhere else in the U.S.
- swearwolf 4y ago
  It doesn’t help that just about all of the solutions that work for other countries have been taken completely off the table by our political system and the interests that fund it.

by omega3 4y ago

nostromo 4y ago

Can we stop pretending the war on drugs is sending large amounts of people in California to jail? It’s not the 80s / 90s anymore. It’s very difficult to end up in jail anywhere on the west coast due to run of the mill drug possession.

omega3 4y ago
I think you are right where it comes to possession. According to the 2018 report [0] only 4.1% were in prison for drug related crimes. It would be interesting to see how many of the other categories (burglary, murder, possession of a weapon etc) are directly linked with drug trade or drug use. [0]https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/174/2020/01/201812_DataPoints.pdf https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/17...

digianarchist 4y ago

One takes far more political capital than the other. A DA has direct and immediate influence over prosecutions. Violent crime dropped on his watch. Although thefts are up [0]. The stats show it. Very disappointing result. [0] - https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-07/2022-san-francisco-district-attorney-chesa-boudin-recall-election-results?_amp=true https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-07/2022-san...

samatman 4y ago
Which department in San Francisco releases statistics on violent crime and who heads it?
- digianarchist 4y ago
  The FBI reports crime stats under the Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

civilized 4y ago

Simple general comment here, no political valence intended - 13% of the adult male population and 33% of the black adult male population have felony convictions [1]. A felony record is still a scarlet letter in employment and other areas of society. So whatever's causing it, whatever we do about it, this is a huge weight on the male population and on black males in particular. We can't seriously attempt to address racial issues in the US without addressing this. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996985/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5996985/

crispyambulance 4y ago

The problem, unfortunately, is that no one knows how to actually solve the underlying systemic causes. The only thing that works, partially IMHO, is periods of "broken-window-theory" policing followed by gentrification, healthy streets, and mixed use development. If residents value their communities, they will take care of them physically, economically, and socially. This was explored a lot in a classic work by Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities). It's still a relevant read and informs much of new urbanist thinking.

zozbot234 4y ago
Unfortunately, "gentrification" has literally become a four-letter word among Progressive activists. And that even more clearly the case in SF than anywhere else in the U.S.
swearwolf 4y ago
It doesn’t help that just about all of the solutions that work for other countries have been taken completely off the table by our political system and the interests that fund it.