Enforcing laws, enhancing mental health key in fighting crime
Here are my suggestions for reducing violence in Atlanta:
- Enforce current laws. The community knows that “arrests are down 40%” and that laws are not being enforced. They feel emboldened. Things need to tighten up.
- Communicate to the community that laws will be enforced. I agree with your “firm but fair” comments on the July 11 Editorial page. We now need to be firm. Let the community that you will be prosecuted. This also requires hiring additional police.
- Mandatory prison if you commit a crime with a gun. People might then think twice before committing a crime. This is the biggest thing that could affect behavior.
- District Attorneys need to prosecute offenders -- especially repeat offenders.
- Incorporate more staff to address the people out there with mental health -- and not criminal -- issues.
It would take political courage for any elected official to suggest some of the above items, but we must create “societal deterrents” to using a gun for crime -- then it will greatly decrease. Lack of leadership, accountability and pandering to political groups is fueling the breakdown of our great city.
RUSSELL BROWN, ATLANTA
Opposition to law and order behind spike in violent crime
I read your opinion articles about the high crime rate in Atlanta. The causes of these upticks in crime not only in Atlanta but in other cities around the United States are the endless morality play between some people of color and law enforcement.
The anti-police mentality is expressing itself in the soaring crime rates. There is an excessive amount of leniency for various offenses in the name of civil rights. In my community, there was a commission tasked with perceived racial inequities in the criminal justice system. It calls for non-enforcement of littering, public drinking, aggressive panhandling, trespassing, and other quality of life concerns.
All of this bad public policy is due to a wave of overcompensation and self-flagellation over the death of George Floyd, which happened a thousand miles away in Minneapolis. And, yes, there was Rayshard Brooks, who also has been over-lionized only for being killed by a cop as he was resisting arrest.
The families of these decedents seem unwilling or incapable of leading them out of a criminal lifestyle, but certainly make themselves quite available when it comes to getting a settlement check from the taxpayers. The above description of lax enforcement has another phrase to it, called not-so-benign neglect of our cities.
DAVID HENNELLY, ROCHESTER, N.Y.
Recidivist criminals, broken families fueling crime
Related to your July 11 Editorial-page piece, “Giving Voice to Solutions for Violence,” I appreciate the AJC’s effort to begin to address the terrible violence that’s happening all too frequently. Hopefully the reports, conversations, etc. mentioned will at least start the effort to solve this awful problem.
Since you asked AJC readers to contact you, here are my two brief thoughts:
- Hopefully the AJC will address the disturbing issue of courts allowing violent criminals back on the streets. On the front page of your July 11 issue was the terrible story about the suspect arrested in the Cobb County golf course crime. The report detailed the disturbing history the suspect has related to violent crime: charges of illegal drugs, gunfights and assaulting police officers over the last several years, but spending very little time in jail and quickly released and back on the streets. This begs the question: why was the suspect still on the streets? I would think any ongoing efforts to solve the growing violence must address the failure of our justice system to keep violent, recidivist criminals off the street.
- The issue of broken families. Children growing up in broken homes with no fathers around is a crisis that seems to be growing and should not be ignored. You mention this briefly in your piece, but I don’t think the importance of solid homes with mothers and fathers working together to raise their children can be overstated. Surely the issue of broken homes can be considered a root cause for all of the children at risk?
As a longtime subscriber to the AJC, I appreciate the importance of a strong newspaper and solid reporting. I’ll look forward to seeing more about this effort in future editions.
KIP HOWARD, MARIETTA
Noise of frequent gunfire a symptom of our society’s problems
I live in Stone Mountain. Living here for decades means that I have seen the same amount of change as everyone else in the metro area, some of which is good and a like amount that is bad. Being retired and quarantined here gave my partner and I a good opportunity to observe our surroundings more closely.
Most surprising is our acceptance and eventual normalizing of the gunfire we hear each night. With no scheduled obligations we usually enjoy our backyard deck until the early morning hours. Watching the lightning bugs, stars peeping through the trees, and sounds of tree frogs and other night peepers is how we spent, and continue to spend, our late evenings.
On almost every night we hear gunfire. It is true to say that the nights in which we hear none are quite rare.
I don’t have a solution or a reason for prolific use of firearms, but I’m confident that our quick assimilation and normalization of gunfire into our evening sound medley is not rare.
And, perhaps, therein lies the cause.
The more acceptable it becomes to all of us, the more acceptable it becomes to our children, family, and neighbors.
It’s understandable to want to look to a single cause, like social unrest, economic hardship, defunding or the alternate of police aggression, a decline in religious practices, or that easy-to-blame demon -- video games.
What if it’s all of us.
We are the cause. Our casual observance and useless chatter on possible causes fixes nothing. The hell with the cause. Make it illegal to own a gun and see how quickly the issue is resolved.
Please don’t tell me about your right to bear arms. I don’t care about your bonding with dear old dad while killing deer. I don’t give a chicken-fried darn about your locked gun safe and extensive safety training. If owning a gun is illegal, gun owners will make sure their weapons are out of sight and safely stored. The price of illegal guns will rise when there are fewer in circulation, thus making it more difficult for kids to purchase them on the street.
Look at the rest of the world for answers. No other country had a surge in gun murders as a reaction to COVID and quarantine.
Just us. It’s us.
NANCY MELTON, STONE MOUNTAIN
