Gregory Freeman: Take A Bite Out Of Crime Now. PD 1/11/1994

Headline: TAKE A BITE OUT OF CRIME NOW
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Tues., Jan., 11, 1994
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 9B, Edition: FIVE STAR

TIME FOR a reality check.

That's what I thought as I saw and read about the three-day summit of black leaders in Washington. The summit, to push for ways to fight violent crime, was called by Jesse Jackson's National Rainbow Coalition. In a speech, Jackson called for investment in low-interest loans to blacks, more jobs and training, less emphasis on building more prisons, welfare reform, putting more police on the streets and other anti-crime efforts.
Many of the speakers had good, sound ideas, such as the development of projects that use public and private funds to build the self-esteem of young men who know only crime as a means of survival.

But too many, it seemed to me, ignored or dismissed the other part of the equation: direct efforts to combat crime.
It's easy to say things like, "We must act and regain the moral offensive and set the moral priorities for the country, " a comment Jackson made during the conference.

But tell that to the woman who's afraid to leave the house for fear that someone will break in and steal the few possessions she has.
Or tell it to the elderly man who's afraid to walk to the corner store because he's afraid someone will beat him over the head and take his money.
Or tell it to the parents who worry every time their teen-age son leaves the house - not because they fear that he will get into some sort of trouble, but because they are afraid that some idiot will try to shoot him for his coat, his shirt or his tennis shoes.

These folks don't have time to hear about the lofty goals. They can't wait until the bad guys decide to go straight and get legitimate jobs. Their problems are real; crime is swirling around them every day.
These are real people. They need help and solutions, and they need them now.

That's not to say that the ideas discussed at the conference were bad. In fact, many of them were very good.
   Take the "17-30" venture of Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., for instance. The program set up a network of counselors in Los Angeles who recruited young men who spent large amounts of time on street corners, lived with someone on welfare, sold drugs occasionally or engaged in other unproductive activities. The counselors signed them up for vocational education and offered a $50 weekly stipend.
   The counselors taught the young men how America worked - how to get Social Security cards, drivers licenses and other forms of identification, how to apply for a job - largely because no one had ever taught them. In fact, they learned to be citizens.
   A program like that would be valuable in St. Louis.

But while the conference seemed heavy on crime prevention programs, it seemed astonishingly light on how to deal with criminals, those on the streets who are creating havoc and pain.
   Participants didn't just ignore corrective measures.
   Jackson said his Rainbow Coalition would actively oppose the crime bills pending in Congress, complaining they focused on police and prisons.
   Why eschew proposals for more police or those designed to construct more jails? Why knock ideas to reform the welfare system if the reforms include ways to provide jobs for those who now have none? Why criticize proposals that carry with them an element of personal responsibility?
   It strikes me that many are using the dilemma of crime for political purposes.

With deaths piling up each day like newspapers on the lawn of a vacant house, it seems to me that we can little afford to overlook any ideas to curb violence.
If that means tougher laws and revisions of juvenile codes around the country, so be it.
If it means spending more money in urban areas on programs to fight poverty and teach conflict resolution, so be it as well.

The goal should be to provide our society with more of a carrot-and-stick approach.
   The carrots - programs to keep people from crime, off the streets and out of poverty - need to be there.
   But the sticks - stiff sentencing for offenders, additional police and more jail space - need to be there, too.
   Crime is a multifaceted problem. It calls for multifaceted solutions.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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