Are D.C. residents divided on what to do with police reform, crime, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

+200,000,000,0000

But our privileged liberal white overlords apparently know what's best for everyone. Less policing, tolerance of open drug use, and slap on the wrist punishments for serious crimes. It is insanity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

+200,000,000,0000

But our privileged liberal white overlords apparently know what's best for everyone. Less policing, tolerance of open drug use, and slap on the wrist punishments for serious crimes. It is insanity.

This 100 percent. Makes me wonder if the uber white liberals really care about black people or if they're just really out of touch.. They seem be really interested in policies that further harms black communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

I agree with most of this! But in practice, social workers go up to someone causing a nuisance due to their mental health status, and ask that person if they want assistance of some kind. If the person says no, there is absolutely nothing the social worker can do about it. If that person wants to defecate near the bus stop, he's going to do it, and a social worker can't stop that. The police could then arrest for disorderly conduct or trespassing. But when that happens, it disproportionately impacts black people and other people of color.

And so police are getting mixed messages. Don't let your arrest stats be disproportionate by race. But please address these nuisance issues.

The solution has to be somewhere higher up the line than police and social workers on the street. It has to deal with comprehensive, accessible mental health and substance use treatment, as well as housing options. And they all cost tons of money. I was hoping Obamacare would help, but the failure by congress to fund risk corridors has made it shaky at best.

In my vision, refusing assistance is not an option. We would have a robust system of public mental health facilities, and people would be involuntarily committed until they could demonstrate improvement and/or guardianship by a caretaker. You don't get to decline being arrested for breaking into a house; likewise, you don't get to decline being treated for being a danger to passersby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

I agree with most of this! But in practice, social workers go up to someone causing a nuisance due to their mental health status, and ask that person if they want assistance of some kind. If the person says no, there is absolutely nothing the social worker can do about it. If that person wants to defecate near the bus stop, he's going to do it, and a social worker can't stop that. The police could then arrest for disorderly conduct or trespassing. But when that happens, it disproportionately impacts black people and other people of color.

And so police are getting mixed messages. Don't let your arrest stats be disproportionate by race. But please address these nuisance issues.

The solution has to be somewhere higher up the line than police and social workers on the street. It has to deal with comprehensive, accessible mental health and substance use treatment, as well as housing options. And they all cost tons of money. I was hoping Obamacare would help, but the failure by congress to fund risk corridors has made it shaky at best.

In my vision, refusing assistance is not an option. We would have a robust system of public mental health facilities, and people would be involuntarily committed until they could demonstrate improvement and/or guardianship by a caretaker. You don't get to decline being arrested for breaking into a house; likewise, you don't get to decline being treated for being a danger to passersby.

Except without legislation of your vision, you DO get to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

+200,000,000,0000

But our privileged liberal white overlords apparently know what's best for everyone. Less policing, tolerance of open drug use, and slap on the wrist punishments for serious crimes. It is insanity.

This 100 percent. Makes me wonder if the uber white liberals really care about black people or if they're just really out of touch.. They seem be really interested in policies that further harms black communities.

The leadership of this city is - and has been for decades - Black. Which white overlords are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

I don't understand all the finger pointing at MPD for being too aggressive. I never see them doing much of anything. From my vantage point they are way too permissive and passive. I've seen crimes happen right in front of MPD officers, like drugs being sold at 7th and H and the cops act like nothing is going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand all the finger pointing at MPD for being too aggressive. I never see them doing much of anything. From my vantage point they are way too permissive and passive. I've seen crimes happen right in front of MPD officers, like drugs being sold at 7th and H and the cops act like nothing is going on.

Agree. DC has the most mellow cops ever. And even when they do take action, prosecutors drop charges left and right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand all the finger pointing at MPD for being too aggressive. I never see them doing much of anything. From my vantage point they are way too permissive and passive. I've seen crimes happen right in front of MPD officers, like drugs being sold at 7th and H and the cops act like nothing is going on.

Agree. DC has the most mellow cops ever. And even when they do take action, prosecutors drop charges left and right.

So if they really aren’t doing anything, defund (reduce their budget), and use that money in a more justice-oriented, socially conscious manner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand all the finger pointing at MPD for being too aggressive. I never see them doing much of anything. From my vantage point they are way too permissive and passive. I've seen crimes happen right in front of MPD officers, like drugs being sold at 7th and H and the cops act like nothing is going on.

Agree. DC has the most mellow cops ever. And even when they do take action, prosecutors drop charges left and right.

So if they really aren’t doing anything, defund (reduce their budget), and use that money in a more justice-oriented, socially conscious manner.

There's a massive difference between what they do and what they should do. When we have cops that care about open air drug markets, I'll start caring about touchy-feely "socially conscious" policing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There's a massive difference between what they do and what they should do. When we have cops that care about open air drug markets, I'll start caring about touchy-feely "socially conscious" policing.

Why not both these things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There's a massive difference between what they do and what they should do. When we have cops that care about open air drug markets, I'll start caring about touchy-feely "socially conscious" policing.

Why not both these things?

This. It's like national security. You need military AND the State Department to keep us safe. We need both police and social services to provide maximum safety and wellbeing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand all the finger pointing at MPD for being too aggressive. I never see them doing much of anything. From my vantage point they are way too permissive and passive. I've seen crimes happen right in front of MPD officers, like drugs being sold at 7th and H and the cops act like nothing is going on.

Agree. DC has the most mellow cops ever. And even when they do take action, prosecutors drop charges left and right.

So if they really aren’t doing anything, defund (reduce their budget), and use that money in a more justice-oriented, socially conscious manner.

I guess you are missing the point-- they do something, like keeping the MAGAs and Antifas pretty much separate this weekend, responding to break-ins, murders and rapes etc. People are saying they should actually do more (in a justice oriented and socially conscious manner) which would involve more money, more training, even more police. Peep the Washington Post article on Minneapolis today and how it is faring right now with its defrayed and demoralized police department. Maybe an increase in murder and mayhem is just a phase, and eventually society will fill in the lack of police and harmoniously adjust itself? Like Baltimore has done? Please spare us your lazy and life-ending solutions...
it's not an either/or. DC has a robust budget and can increase funding for mental health, education, social work etc. There is already tons of money rolling down those avenues, but sure grease a few more palms and encourage them to coordinate with the police. I'm sure the police would be relieved. But defund the police, in a city like DC where they are not doing anything improper and would be happy to adjust their methods in whatever way politicians legislate, is laziness in your thinking.

[Anonymous]

So the big nitwits on the City Council are mad about police overtime during the summer demonstrations. they also are mad that the police surrounded and peacefully dispersed the group of demonstrators that moved en masse through the city this past summer. They also want to Feds to pay more for policing.
So many contradictions and so much idiocy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

Have you considered voting moderate Democrat or Independent or Republican? I am a moderate DC Republican and want all the same things. They will never happen with the far left Council. The happiest I've been with our city's governance was Tony Williams. I would vote him for President; however, he did his service and retired gracefully. I am born and bred in DC and have worked extensively in all communities, SES, demographics. It's a lovely city and blaming everything on gentrification is lazy thinking.

I am also black and these are all things that Dems want. However, I HATE respectability politics. It is not the job of the police to monitor behavior. That is the job of parents, neighbors and honestly I think, schools. Not police. Guess what, respectability politics doesn't work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm black.

I grew up in a community where black respectability is strong. The elders simply will not tolerate wayward behavior in kids. Those kids grow up to be educated, productive members of society. They have children that are also well-parented. And so on.

Living in DC (trendy, gentrifying neighborhood) has been an adjustment, to put it mildly. I finally understand what it's like to feel outright disgust about my own skinfolk. The absolute trash behavior that gets passed off as "culture" here is just ... I can't even.

I woke up this morning to discarded fast food packaging and several used condoms in front of my house. Again.

I want the city government and police to treat nuisance crimes as seriously as armed robbery.

I want more policing. I want aggressive behavior profiling. Not to be confused with racial profiling -- behavior profiling. People roaming around looking for an opportunity to commit a crime absolutely behave differently from a couple of friends walking down the street together to get from point A to point B. The latter should be left alone. The former should be stopped and evaluated.

I want a dedicated mental health squad that patrols the streets to deal with people behaving erratically, obviously under the influence of a substance or untreated mental illness. Wrap them up, take them to an institution, treat them on the taxpayer's dollar.

I want the city to hire an army of street cleaners to walk around and pick up garbage. Every neighborhood. Every block. Every day.

DC could be soooo much better than it is, much nicer, much prettier, much higher quality of life for ALL residents. But it will take real political will to eliminate the cancer growing deep here.

+200,000,000,0000

But our privileged liberal white overlords apparently know what's best for everyone. Less policing, tolerance of open drug use, and slap on the wrist punishments for serious crimes. It is insanity.

Ridiculous. Read Locking Up Our Own by James Forman, Jr about DC and this subject and see how much it has hurt black people.