To limit the amount of guns and hard drugs in communities, citizens in cities must demand stronger borders, including enhanced security and inspection at ports of the items that travel through them.
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Why have American lawmakers been tough on criminals instead of dispersing rigor to diminish their access to the tools used to perpetuate criminality?
Does it take more government resources to secure a city’s border than it does to fight a war on drugs through, among many things, evasive neighbor patrolling?
How could a war, if it was really meant to eradicate a community of drugs, not be anchored in enhanced border security, which would, instead of aiming to stop the selling of illegal substances on the street, halt its entrances into a particular locale and, as result, increase the probability of entrapping the source, instead of the peddler.
These questions and more were on my mind today, as they were a year ago in mid-September when I moderated a panel discussion related to a high profile story in Philadelphia: the retailing of BB guns—it’s mere marketing in the city is against a City ordinance—to minors and how a community fought back.
At the event, I made a suggestion to a Pennsylvania State Representative: secure the city’s borders to stop the retailers from receiving the toy guns.
The response from several panelists was how could we do it without stopping every single person and violating their constitutional rights?
My response suggested that no one from the bureaucracy discusses moderation or the constitutionally of stops when they’re done to black and brown bodies in poor neighborhoods in the name of public safety and crime prevention.
My sentiment was echoed last week by Mr. David Kennedy, a celebrated criminologist who said, referring to stopping-and-frisking of black and brown people, that:
“Officers sweep through the area and stop everything that moves, and anyone who has seen this happen cannot believe for a moment that this stuff is constitutional.”
“They can shut down anything they want,” said Mr. Greg Brinkley, a former Philadelphia correctional officer, referring to erecting checkpoints on the county lines for search and seizures of illegal guns and drugs. “Of course, you can’t stop everything from coming into the city, but you can certainly have an impact.”
Mr. Brinkley says there needs to be a type of legislative will that would be the catalyst for a city ordinance that would, for example, require (random) searches of certain cargo that come into our seaports and mailrooms.
But its very unlikely that city officials here will do anything of the sorts, suggested Mr. Brinkley, because, as criminologist Mr. Juwan Z. Bennett of Temple University in North Philadelphia points out, there’s no incentive to do so.
“The drug trade brings in money and jobs… jobs for people who go to war against the drug trade and such,” said Mr. Brinkley.
“The war on drugs is less about helping people, and more about punishing people,” said Mr. Bennett.
There’s plenty of profit in the punishment, Mr. Brinkley alluded, informing me that prisoners are often called inventory.
However, as much profit as there is in the punishment, there’s also great cost, which is the reason for such public and political will for de-crowding the prisons-–releasing non-violent offenders and tracking them in society them through various mediums—and decriminalizing marijuana, which Philadelphia was the first big city to do so.
The narrative is now shifting to treatment, particularly classifying drugs as a health issue, not one of criminality, and thus a greater demand for mental health services and accessibility will ensue.
The dangers we as a society—and more specifically, a city—face is that without securing our borders and decreasing the likelihood that hard drugs, in particular, and guns can flow into communities, our mental health system will become as overburden—due to many diversion programs that will be put in place instead of arrests—in the future as our criminal justice system is today.
Citizens of this country—in particularly in Philadelphia where in several months a new Mayor and Police Commissioner will take office—must demand that city borders be strengthened in the interest of public safety and crime prevention.
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Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
Good responses Tom. Lots of great information that usually isn’t considered when the proposals are flown. As far as the money I don’t know. Maybe reduce their federal tax credits. If the it’s can take back delinquent school loans I guess they could take federal judgements.
“… and decriminalizing marijuana, which Philadelphia was the first big city to do so.” And how is that working? Crime down? What you did is made it easier for the dealers to sell marijuana. The client simply has to meet up with his dealer more often because he can only get into trouble with a larger amount (larger amount = sales) In all the years I’ve worked in the addiction industry where the overwhelming percent of clients came into treatment via the courts, have I ever had a client who was charged with simple possession. Now to clarify, these clients… Read more »
The folks in flyover country–our motto “keep flying, our airport’s broken”–might well agree. Depends on who’s kept from getting where.
While I understand your point Chris it is way too parochial. You talk about securing cities when those on your side have been fighting tooth and nail against the removal of sanctuary cities or enforcing our own borders. You simply can’t have it both ways. So. Get rid of the sanctuaries. Support their removal. Now we can secure the cities to what you say you want. Next move to support the closing of our borders. Since there are no sanctuary cities they have no place to go. Next. Wage the war on the drugs as a real war. Do not… Read more »
I agree
I don’t know where to start ….. I guess I’ll start with the so called “war on drugs.” It’s epic failure is in part due to people not supporting it as evidenced by the continual push to legalize drugs. The “do gooders” sit with the comical visions of Cheech and Chong movies, or the visions of hippies in communes. These do gooders have no clue as to the destructiveness drug use and/or sales have in communities. But let’s legalize it and let them hide their heads in the sand thinking the problem will somehow go away. I suppose that had… Read more »