Pubdate: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) Copyright: 1999 News-Journal Contact: PO Box 2831, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-2831 Fax: +1-904-258-8465 Feedback: http://www.n-jcenter.com/letters.shtml Website: http://www.n-jcenter.com/ Forum: http://www.n-jcenter.com/forum/edit/edit_board.shtml SERIOUS CRIME'S DOWN; FOCUS NOW ON PREVENTION If America's criminals still doubt this society's unforgiving, intolerant disposition toward their misdeeds, let them consider the public resolve that has in the last decade: - ---Funded tens of thousands of additional police officers to law enforcement agencies. - ---Locked up so many inmates that state and federal prisons on average stay 15 percent over capacity. The prison population nationwide grew from 329,000 in 1980 to 1.1 million in 1995. - ---Legislated, in some states, tough "three strikes" rules and mandatory prison time for packing a firearm when committing any crime. - ---Pushed states to try more juvenile offenders as adults. - ---Strengthened victims advocacy while embracing the death penalty, now supported by a majority of Americans. This is a people in no mood to give the bad guys a break. Reinforcing that mood, law enforcement agencies report steep declines in serious crime nationwide since 1991. Serious crime dropped 10 percent in the first six months of this year over the same period last year, the FBI reported Sunday. Hear the "we told you so" echoes? A vengeful and fearful public will almost certainly interpret the FBI numbers as evidence to support more spending for crime fighting and harsher penalties. Get tougher and crime will drop further, they reason. It's never that simple. If the numbers reported are accurate - they're always suspect because any of the 9,300 police agencies that contribute to crime reports can manipulate them to curry public opinion - it's safer to live in the United States today than any time in this decade. One must wonder whether the nation's amazing economic prosperity, low jobless rates, emphasis on juvenile crime prevention and improved social programs haven't had more to do with securing this safer America. And one must ask if it might not be more prudent now to invest a larger part of new public resources in prevention and treatment programs than in police batons and prison bars. Last month, Volusia and Flagler residents heard their state attorney acknowledge that get-tough measures aren't reducing drug offenses. Instead, Tanner wants to focus local efforts on treatment. At the state level, the chief of the governor's anti-drug response has similarly advocated more emphasis on treatment. Other needs are evident. Mentally ill people are too often jailed by police but aren't provided treatment for the illnesses that cause their revolving-door run-ins with the law. Meanwhile, metropolitan police chiefs across the nation have turned 180 degrees on the gun possession issue. Until recently staunch advocates of the popular slogan "guns don't kill people; criminals do," these chiefs have mounted major campaigns to track down handguns used or possessed illegally and take them out of circulation. This new focus on prevention is making a difference, they say. Now that police caseloads are lighter and government treasuries are bulging, it makes good sense to direct additional resources to help troubled people avoid and turn from lives of crime. It's time for this angry, fearful public to show its compassionate, hopeful side. Doing that is the nation's best prospect for continuing the crime rate's downward spiral. --- - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder