In 2007, Richmond, California was
America’s 9th most dangerous city. Desperate
for a different approach to law enforcement,
new police chief Chris Magnus fired bad cops,
suspended all stop-and-frisks, and improved
community relations. City Hall also launched
an experimental program that identifies residents
most likely to commit serious crimes and provides
them with a mentor and a monthly stipend of
$300-$1,000. Richmond’s homicide rate has since
dropped by 66%--the lowest in 33 years.

Today’s Homicide News

1)In a senseless act of nonviolence a gun man killed three persons on Trestle Trail Bridge in park in Menasha and turned the gun on himself.
2)Two persons try to enter a meeting of Muslim hate group with loaded guns. They shot a security person but policemen at the entrance killed both of them.
3)A gun was accidentally shot off in a crowd in the city of Baltimore. Everyone panicked. No one injured.
4)There are four prayer vigils tomorrow at the site of homicide victims and we will include five other victims of homicides. Milwaukee is breaking all records for senseless killings this year.

Two of these events made National News, the second and third ones. One and four are more tragic stories of senseless violence but did not make it. The second and third situations involve hatred and racial frustration, although the shot fired in Baltimore was of national interest because of recent media coverage. Of course any hint of terrorism makes the national news.

In Baltimore some are talking about the root causes of the outbreak of frustration at the death of black man. In Milwaukee some are talking about having ice cream socials with police and community or having an expanded neighborhood watch program in North Central Milwaukee.

The senseless killings in the Fox Valley, Menasha, Wisconsin is in a white middle class community where this kind of stuff is not suppose to happen. However as the doctor in the press conference said this morning on local TV the scourge of senseless violence has touched this community. In Milwaukee many people blame the criminals, broken family and victims, for senseless violence.

One story that is neglected by local and national media offers hope of how to heal our nation from this violence. It came by way of Facebook from a group call US Uncut.

“In 2007, Richmond, California was America’s 9th most dangerous city. Desperate for a different approach to law enforcement, new police chief, Chris Magnus. fired bad cops, suspended all stop-and-frisks, and improved community relations. City Hall also launched an experimental program that identifies residents most likely to commit serious crimes and provides them with a mentor and a monthly stipend of $300-$1,000. Richmond’s homicide rate has since dropped by 66%--the lowest in 33 years. Officer involved shootings also declined to less than one a year.”

Although the above example reduces crime significantly and comes at less cost than our present policing and criminal justice system. the idea of putting potential criminals in a healthy environment and paying them to be good goes against our capitalistic system where crime and prisons are profitable businesses. In Richmond we see what good policing looks like, paying people to be good.

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