I believe most Americans will agree that there’s an epidemic of violence in our streets, especially gun violence. Unfortunately, few Americans agree on how to fix the problem. Most have no idea where to start.

I have a few ideas that I feel are worth considering.

1. More police. A lot more police. The best deterrent to more crime is to make it not pay. Every time a perp commits a crime and doesn’t get caught, it encourages that perp to commit more crimes and encourages others to imitate him. Larger police departments could develop more “back-office” support, unarmed assistants to handle tasks like computer searches or scanning video feeds, to allow the street cops to spend more time out there.
2. More cameras. Same logic as #1, catch more criminals.
3. Stop and Frisk. Create diverse teams, give them sensitivity training and let them make very visible stops in high crime neighborhoods. Make the thugs think twice about concealed carrying. Community Policing teams (see item 6) could identify high-value targets.
4. Police reform. Every organization has slackers and bad apples. Their actions make everyone look bad. Politicians need to allocate money for training to instill professionalism. State police could be tasked with devising and providing training programs for small town forces. Leaders need to do a better job of recruiting people who live in the neighborhoods being policed. Unions and leadership need to be more proactive in cleaning house and getting the message out that bad actors will be held accountable. State police should be reviewing and evaluating all local hires to identify job hopping.
5. Police-Community relations committees. The people being protected need to understand that the police are being sent into the most dangerous neighborhoods where an inordinate number of individuals are carrying guns. The police are just as scared of being shot as the residents. There needs to be more dialogue so that both sides understand each other. Sponsor events where police and residents can mingle and interact.
6. Community policing. The police are understaffed and city budgets are strained. One possibility would be to recruit unarmed town watch workers from the neighborhoods. Teams of residents could form foot patrols who alert the police as to potential issues, deal with disputes and talk to the people who are being served. They are likely to get more honest information than a cop in a patrol car and should be able to identify threats a lot faster. There needs to be a lot of training, oversight and coordination but, if done right, could be a real benefit to the police. These would be paid positions, more than Walmart but not as much as a real cop. They could focus police resources on drug houses, gang hangouts and people with weapons – the people who make neighborhoods unlivable. If members of the community call them first, they could also provide an initial judgment in deciding when to call for mental health professionals instead of armed police.
7. Rubber bullets. Issue cops a second gun, one loaded with rubber bullets so they have a less-lethal option in situations where there is uncertainty or doubt. Longer range than a taser but still a chance it could be lethal if it hits the wrong spot. This is a compromise that lets police protect themselves without having to make a kill or be killed choice.
8. Cut back on big payouts in police misconduct cases where the person who was shot has some culpability. Granted that everyone is afraid of jury awards but publicized big payouts encourage a hit-the-lottery mindset even if the shooting was justified. The cycle seems to be; get a lawyer, start a protest, negotiate a settlement. At the very least, the awards should be kept confidential.
9. Gun Control. Politicians need to man/woman up and pass real gun control. In my opinion, the driving force behind the current gun epidemic is straw purchasers so effective laws that stop straw purchasers would be the place to start. Studies have shown that straw purchasers have helped the drug cartels and inner city gangs build up frightening arsenals – but it’s been really lucrative for the gun companies. Registering every gun sale would let police track every gun used in a crime back to its source. This registry wouldn’t infringe on the ability of any honest person to buy and own a gun but it would infringe on the rights of criminals. Consequently, the NRA spends a lot of money fighting this idea because it’s bad for profits.
10. Jobs, especially part-time jobs for teenagers. I’m against the government creating do-nothing jobs for anyone with political connections. We should subsidize private jobs by picking up a couple of dollars an hours for kids based on specific criteria – like living in high-crime areas and staying in school. Employers could get a tax credit – maybe 20% of what they pay kids who come in through this program.

So what are the odds that all this will happen? Pretty low but that’s not an excuse not to try. If half of these measures can be implemented it might help. Is potentially saving lives worth the effort? I think it is. Now we just need a few politicians with the guts to agree.

Additional thoughts on topics listed above.

1. – More Police & 4 – Police Reform.

I remember the 60’s. There were anti-war protesters and race rioters in the streets. When the police tried to restore order, the people they were trying to rein in called them “pigs”. The same was happening to our soldiers returning from Vietnam. Protesters would spit on them and call them “baby killers”. It was not a good time but many of us have forgotten (often deliberately) how badly divided the nation was back then. Fast forward to today.

Over the years, our collective opinion of the military has changed. We respect them and people frequently thank them for their service. Fire and medical responders have gotten similar respect but the police have not. I believe one reason is that we’ve allowed the misconduct of a few to taint all the dedicated, hard working men and women who protect us. The situation has gotten particularly bad in the inner cities areas that need police protection the most.

It’s time for a reset. The first step would be to allocate funds to the State Police in each state and task them with bringing all local police up to a higher level of professionalism. They would standardize training for all local police, big cities as well as small towns, vet all police hires to prevent bad apples from moving from location to location, teach community relations and develop intervention services trained to deal with mental health issues whenever possible.

If we show our police the respect they deserve, there may be more men and women stepping up for the job. Conversely, the police have to know what is expected of them to earn that respect.

3 – Stop and Frisk

Most of the suggestions on my list will take time to implement but Stop and Frisk units can be created in a fairly short time. The thinking is that the existence of these units will make many young men who routinely carry a gun with them hesitate. Once the teams are deployed, carrying a gun could have consequences. Now, there are none. At the very least, those emotional outbursts where a fistfight turns into a shootout should decrease. If the (allegedly) aggrieved party has to go home and get his gun there’s a greater chance he’ll have time to consider the consequence and cool off. It’s also a chance for one of the conflict intervention teams to intervene.

And let’s address the elephant in the room now. Yes, this team will be operating in the highest crime areas so, yes, most of those stopped will be young men of color. It’s unfortunate but its reality. We’re dealing with a surge in black-on-black crime so stopping suburbanites – of any color – will not fix the problem.

5 – Community Relations.

The police really hated Police Oversight Boards. So let’s move from oversight to a more cooperative model that promotes police/community dialogue.