THE REALITY OF CRIME – AT 10:11 A.M. ET:  For decades this country was sold the phony line that the "root cause" of crime was "socio-economic factors."  It was garbage.  Yes, there are some socio-economic factors involved, but, shock, the ones that actually are involved are the very ones the "root cause" crowd refused to discuss – like fatherlessness.

Crime occurs when people in a deteriorating cultural environment believe they can get away with it.  No city has had more success in fighting crime than New York, and it did it by radical improvements in law enforcement, and by having the right numbers of cops to do the job.

Now, the crime picture is darkening, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg is blunt about the cause.  His comments have national implications, especially at a time when so many states and cities are in fiscal trouble:

A disturbing spike in murders and other serious crimes is leading city officials to believe the NYPD’s famed “blue line” is growing way too thin.

“It is worrisome,”Mayor Bloomberg said on his radio show yesterday, noting that Police "Commissioner [Ray] Kelly and I talked at length about it."

"We have fewer police officers than we did before," the mayor said. "More cops always helps."

So far this calendar year, the number of New York City murders has jumped a scary 22 percent over the same period last year -- from 86 slayings up to 103 this year.

And...

Bloomberg noted that the total number of such crimes is "still very low" compared to the sky-high rates seen in years such as 1990, when murders hit an annual record of 2,245.

But he and others admit that the NYPD's shrinking manpower level -- from 41,000 cops in 2001 down to about 35,000 today -- could be playing a factor in the increased crime rates. The city expects to shed around 1,300 officers in the upcoming fiscal year through attrition, and also is threatening to lay off a whopping 3,150 cops if the state slashes related funding.

One top police official said, "There are just a lot less people out there . . . the type of presence we have had that deters shootings."

COMMENT:  The state of New York is approaching bankruptcy.  Funding will be cut.  In many municipalities, the first thing to go when funding is cut is police officers.  This can and will have a devastating effect.  And then the "root cause" crowd will come out of the woodwork again, probably supported by Barack Obama, and will demand new "social programs" that they can run.

Back to the sixties.

March 27, 2010