BUSH IN THE STICKS — Air Force One landed at the Springfield-Branson Airport yesterday at 6:55 p.m. carrying President George W. Bush, Karl Rove and the gang. According to Springfield’s KY3, he is scheduled to speak at a campaign rally for Jim Talent at 9:20 this morning. The two will then head to an invitation-only rally at noon at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.
JUDGE GETS A BREAK — According to the Post-Dispatch, U.S. District Judge Charles A. Shaw has been cleared in a complaint filed earlier this year alleging he told 314 people at a local naturalization ceremony to vote for Congressman Lacy Clay. The Appeals Court ruled that there was not “sufficient evidence” to believe the incident actually happened.
Apparently the word of a Post reporter and 314 new Americans just doesn’t cut the mustard.
THE MAYOR, THE CHIEF, and “THE SYSTEM” — The Mayor and Police Chief Joe Mokwa were side-by-side this week defending their city’s honor (if not their streets) from the label of “Most Dangerous City”. But as the American Spectator observed yesterday, just a few days before, Mokwa was trying to explain why his department can’t seem to keep this city safe — it’s the judges’ fault!
Mokwa complained to the Police Board that his officers “keep re-arresting the same habitual criminals, whose presence keeps some neighborhoods in a crime rut and makes the job of officers more difficult and dangerous.”
No wonder, the chief continued, “that it’s difficult to make an impact on crime while there are so many predators on probation”…
The problem — and more important, the solution — is plain, noted one beleaguered police commissioner: “The police are doing desperate work on a nightly basis….The neighborhoods are crying out, but the judicial system is turning its back to them….We’ve got to demand stronger sentencing, stronger results. It’s our judicial system that’s letting the people down.”
The police board blaming the judges? You know, in a place where elected officials were more accountable to the people, a police chief would be taking heat from his boss, the mayor. Or the circuit attorney would be taking heat from her boss, the people, for not getting tough sentences for hard offenders.
But in the City of St. Louis, “the man” blames “the system” for our dangerous predicament. And we just watch.
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:26 am
^Indeed, there was a story in the PD in the last few days which spoke about budget cutbacks and shortfalls at the Dept. of Corrections(MO). These problems have resulted in more probationary and favorable parole conditions, which in turn, according to the article, lead to more felons being released prematurely. I wonder how the get-tough-on-crime Republicans–and Gov. Blunt– are going to explain that. Obviously, there are other mitigating circumstances leading to the rise in crime rates, but one would think that the state of Misery wouldn’t make early release one of them.
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:29 am
Nice blog. I had not heard of it until you wrote the letter to the American.
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:27 am
This entire system is messed up.
First the Police Chief should not be complaining to the Police Board. He should be complaining to the Mayor.
Second these “criminals” who are constantly arrested on minor drug offenses need to be put into rehab programs, while the police needs to star major investigations into the high level drug traffickers and suppliers.
Constantly arresting low level dealers and/or drug users is completely stupid as it does not attack the supply of drugs, nor does it get them off drugs.
Stronger sentences should be applied to the suppliers and high level drug dealers not the minor offenders. Minor offenders can be delt with in a more cost effective rehabilitation program. These minor offenders should not be locked up for 20 years as this has a detrimental affect on the family unit and the punishment is not proportional to the offense.
The organizations that are supplying the drugs need to be taken down, not the victims of the drug trade.
This problem of re-arresting people has nothing to do with a lack of strong sentences. The police and judicial system are targeting the wrong criminals! This is a problem in many Cities but we can start addressing the problem here.
November 3rd, 2006 at 5:26 pm
To Doug,
You are so misinformed and have no idea what goes on in the judicial system in the City of St. Louis.
Being an 8 year police officer I can tell you from experience I have seen those people convicted of robbery, multiple auto thefts, assault with weapons, etc. go free after just days or months of being in jail. Their sentence when it is over? Probation. Are you saying armed criminals that inflict serious physical injury should be getting probation not only once but two and three times?
I would say let us see this happen to you or your family and then will you continue to back probation for violent criminals?
By the way we target ALL criminals not just the low level people. We do that because low level drug dealers and users are just as big a neighborhood nuisance as anyone else. Also these “minor” offenders are often tied to other crimes.
Finally the Chief complained to his boss, which is the Board of Police Commissioners. That is his chain of command. The Board is then responsible for reporting it to the Mayor and to the Governor. This Governor as well as past Governors are responsible for selecting judges that continually give weak sentences or continually abuse the probation system. Probation has its place.
The problem of re-arresting people has everything to do with weakened sentences. Also remember that your beloved Mayor selects the City court judges that have turned the courts into a three ring circus and punishes nobody for any crime. The City courts are much like City Hall - a laughing stock.
Take a look at the Problem Solving courts in New York and surrounding areas and how it helped turn a struggling inner city around. Why don’t we institute these types of changes in our court system?
I can tell you why we are archaic in our thinking.
So Doug before you spout off again about things you know nothing about please do your homework and ask those familiar with the system.