DC's Mayor says warrantless searches will solve crime. Tell her it takes jobs and housing!
- by: Nathan Empsall
- recipient: Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, Washington, DC
The nation's capital is suffering an intense crime wave. One October night saw five armed robberies in 30 minutes in my old neighborhood, Capitol Hill. Two were just blocks from my girlfriend's home in Southwest.
Something needs to be done - but Mayor Muriel Bowser's plan will only make things worse.
Bowser wants to let the police search rehabilited felons without a warrant - even in their homes! Banning former prisoners from ever reclaiming their lives is immoral, counterproductive, and blatantally unconstitutional. Bowser also wants harsher penalties and more incarceration, but that just doubles down on failed tactics.
Stop Police Terror Project DC, formerly DC Ferguson, has asked, "Should we be giving the police the power to execute thousands of warrantless 24/7 searches, based on evidence that is thin at best... especially since we have a police force with a documented history of racial profiling?... Our answer is an unequivocal no."
Residents need crime prevention, not crime control. Thankfully, this terrible bill is likely dead on arrival with the District Council. Now we need to tell the mayor to make sure her next proposal actually gets the job done.
Police chief after police chief has said it loud and clear: Law enforcement alone cannot solve crime. We need our entire government in action, not just the police. Tell Mayor Bowser that for crime to go down, we need a plan that incorporates more jobs and education, liveable wages, and affordable housing!
Mayor Bowser,
I call on you to scrap your current crime plan and go back to the drawing board. District residents need a focus on crime prevention, not crime control! We need a plan that incorporates the whole city government and the whole community, not just the armed police. We need to focus on livable wages, job creation, and affordable housing.
Warrantless searches of anyone, former felon or not, effectively declares that no one has ever finished serving their time. This tactic is immoral, counterproductive, and blatantly unconstitutional. Harsher penalties and more incarceration are also counterproductive - that's just doubling down on failed tactics.
Police chief after police chief has said it loud and clear: Law enforcement alone cannot solve crime. In the words of Dr. Lee Brown, the father of community policing, former Mayor of Houston, and former NYPD police commissioner and Houston police chief: "The police do not have the means to prevent the majority of crimes committed because they occur when an individual or group seizes upon an opportunity to do wrong in the absence of an officer... It is not just a police problem... The crime problem will not be resolved by a major breakthrough in policing. The crime problem will not be resolved by a major breakthrough in prosecution. The crime problem will not be resolved by a major breakthrough in the courts. The crime problem will not be resolved by a major breakthrough in corrections. Only by dealing thoroughly with the socio-economic problems that cause crime can the problem be effectively addressed."
The mayor needs to give up on tactics that alienate the community from the police and breed mistrust. Instead, you must address crime with a plan that incorporates more jobs and education, livable wages, affordable housing, and education!
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
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