Our Blue Balance

They elect some Euphoria like Mayor who then appoints a soft police chief and all of a sudden wallah - there is a growing crime wave in the city.    

A very important article in the paper this weekend. Was I surprised to read it? Not a bit. I could see this one coming a mile away. Other big blue cities have had a similar problem. And they never have figured it out. It is the Minneapolis Police Department. They are now being accused by some of "under-policing".

I have addressed my feelings on our police forces before. And that includes the MPD (Minneapolis Police Department). I have a lot of respect for them. Every watch, when they put on the uniform and strap on their belts, there is a chance they will not be coming home. They put their lives on the line each and every watch to protect and serve. Now are there some occasional problems within the ranks? Yes, but the police have ways (along with civilian oversight) to police themselves.

In the 1990's New York City had a huge, huge problem. It was a city spinning out of control. David Dinkins was the Mayor in the early 1990's and his social experiment with the city was going poorly. Then the citizens of New York elected a guy who knew what he was doing. A former federal prosecutor, he knew the law. And he knew which police chief to pick. So in 1994, New York elected Rudy Giuliani as Mayor and Giuliani picked William Bratton as his Police Commissioner.

Both Giuliani and Bratton were disciples of "broken window policing" including "stop and frisk". The crime rate started to drop immediately. Some say it had already started due to the surge of economic activity from the 1980's (thank you Reaganomics!) In any event during his eight years as Mayor, violent crime dropped 56%; murder and robberies 66%; and aggravated assault, 28%. The city that many feared at night became somewhat safe once again.

Fact of life. You can't have officers of the law, sworn to uphold the law, turn a blind eye when some minor level offense happens. And that is what is happening in many larger blue cities. They elect some Euphoria like Mayor who then appoints a soft police chief and all of a sudden wallah - there is a growing crime wave in the city.

How much is the Mayor and Police Chief feared in this town? Last week after a couple of late night murders, the Chief had a presser. "This will not be tolerated." The next night, there was more shootings. Groups like Black Lives Matter (BLM) has the Mayor so wrapped up in knots, the police force all of a sudden has been painted as evil doers rather than heroes. And BLM can tie up traffic on major roads without one arrest being made.

Do the police need a delicate balance? Yes. I think we can all agree on that. However, in many cities (including ours) the balance is gone. So long as cities elect Mayors who listen to the criminals more than the police, problems will continue to fester. Under-policing leads to more crime. Over-policing leads to citizen protests. The delicate blue balance which is now needed, continues to elude us all.