[Mpls] A serious problem with stopping crime

[Gregory Reinhardt]

More cops will certainly bring more arrests.  Last year MPD arrested over 46,000 people for a variety of offenses from jaywalking to murder.  Granted this is significantly fewer people than in 2001  (over 57,000 arrested in 2001).  Once arrested, what do you do with the arrestee? City, county , and state are struggling to find meaningful sentencing options for those convicted.  Ideally those options should fit the crime and criminal but also should involve changing the behaviors that lead to criminality.  How many arrests and convictions are enough?   Note: Wisconsin arrests rate are more than double than Minnesota.  It's incarnation rate is 175% higher than Minnesota's, while it's crime rate is 8% less. See link for comparative data.  http://www.wistax.org/news_releases/2004/0409.html.

So where do you wish your local and/or state public safety dollars to go?  Load the front-end for crime prevention strategies including; education, jobs, housing, health-care... etc.  The middle  for crime detection will  bring more cops, judges, and attorneys. Or the end for more jails , rehabilitation, and/or retribution.  It's a difficult task to achieve the proper balance and at the present few are willing to pay more.

Greg Reinhardt
Excelsior