So I've decided to take a break from practicing my air guitar skills to post on this blog. I'm going to compete for a national title next year.
Anyway, here's an interesting column in the Star Tribune. The columnist does bring up some good points about begging. There are forms of white-collar begging that seem to be acceptable in society, while beggars on the streets are not tolerated whatsoever.
But here's the deal. Cracking down on beggars could send a message to other criminals in the Twin Cities. It has to do with a social phenomenon related to the Broken Windows Theory. You know, the one that says if an undamaged car is sitting on the side of the road for a few weeks in a decent neighborhood is likely to stay undamaged. However, if that same car has a broken tail light or rear view mirror, it is much, much more likely to be vandalized. The owner must not care, right?
The point to all this is that the Broken Windows Theory can be uniquely applied to fighting crime. In fact, it worked in New York City to counter a crime epidemic. Malcolm Gladwell writes about it in his book The Tipping Point (a good read ... check it out). Basically, the NYPD decided to crack down on petty crimes like vandalism and farebeating in the subway system. Police officers arrested people who were trying to jump the turnstyles in the metro. Lo and behold, some of the farebeaters had warrants out for the arrest for more violent and serious crimes. Through this and other measures, the NYPD was able to put an end to a very serious, widespread crime epidemic in New York City.
So before Mr. Coleman goes too far in his rant against Twin Cities law enforcement, he should consider Gladwell's NYC example. Will cracking down on beggars cause other crimes to go down in Minneapolis and St. Paul? Maybe. Maybe not. But it really isn't all that outrageous of an idea.
Now let's hear your thoughts. The sound of silence is rather boring.
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1 comment:
The sound of silence is rather boring, but its a great song by simon and garfunkel. I think it is really hard to relate the problem of begging to the actions taken by the NYPD and the whole broken windows theory. First of all, I'm not so sure begging for money is a crime. Would it be legal for the cops to do anything about the beggers...would they arrest them? Put them in a jail that's already overcrowded? Most homeless people are that way because they choose to be. I say let them be, don't give them money, that would solve the problem. How about we try and keep paris in jail before we throw innocent people in there. Second, arresting them could definately help clean up the city from an aesthetic viewpoint, but I don't see it having any effect on crime, especially major crimes. The people commiting crimes aren't beggers, that's why they are commiting crimes. That's there "job", and they don't need to beg. Therefore, I don't foresee many beggers having outstanding warrants. Finally, and I'm not sure if this is much of a point, but I feel the police have much better things to do. I remember how pissed I used to get at the GFPD for busting a party that was too loud. Everyone always asked if they didn't have anything better to do. So to all you 5-0s out there, don't worry about the beggers, go bust some "loud" party full of college students who will be paying your salaries in five years. peace.
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