Crime and the Economy
One of the things I've added to the citizen website is the weekly crime reports that are distributed to local media. My thanks to Chief Sisson and his staff for making this so readily available. Extra thanks to Teresa Carroll who is stuck with the job of sending them to me.
If you go to the
main page of the website, you will find a light tan bar at the top. On that bar are the links to various topical webpages. The second row, 4th block is labeled: Police Dept. Crime Reports. Clicking on that link will take you to a page where you can find a chart with the cumulative totals and links to the individual weekly reports.
I don't have access to last year's data for a comparison, but it would not surprise me to find that the big increases in Arson and Assault are due to economic conditions.
Economic changes such as we have seen in recent years, can have a psychological impact on individuals that can lead them to do acts they would not normally do. The greater the population, the more likely to see criminal behavior increase as a function of economic decline. In part, I feel this is due to that fact that as population increases, community support that comes from the person-to-person contact is lost. All the social services in the world, cannot provide that unique sense of well being that comes from knowing that your family and neighbors care and are willing to help you when the need arises.
Don't get me wrong, I am a strong proponent of social services. However, I am an even stronger proponent of the Golden Rule. These hard economic times, the stress they create for individuals, families, and communities, and the increase in crime bring me to two conclusions.
1. Now is definitely NOT the time to consider reducing any law enforcement, fire, or rescue staff. If money has to be cut from the budget, let it come from other sources.
2. Now IS the time for take a few extra minutes to get to know your neighbors, to be kind to each other, to be supportive....to LIVE the Golden Rule:
For an interesting review of the concept of the Ethic of Reciprocity and how it is multi-cultural and crosses a myriad of perceived religious boundaries, check out the
Ethic of Reciprocity on Wikipedia.