Suffolk County District Attorney Candidate Shines Light on Improving Community Safety
BOSTON, Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Michael Maloney, Independent Candidate for Progressive Criminal Justice Reform:
According to the most recent crime data Suffolk County is ranked as one of the safest suburban communities in the nation.
The newly published 2017 FBI's Uniform Crime Report data shows nearly all crime went down across Massachusetts and Suffolk County. The most recent local law enforcement data finds shootings are down twenty-five percent compared to the same time last year. However, reports on murder rates across Massachusetts and Suffolk county show a relative increase, around twenty-nine percent.
Add to this, community trust in law enforcement is strained in many places, as police are too often put into dangerous situations that elevates the severity of minor encounters with police and risks their own safety. Just recently, three Massachusetts Police Officers have been shot while on duty, two ending in fatalities.
While some of these statistics are encouraging, addressing all the data requires re-evaluation of our law enforcement strategies.
Through community policing combined with the broken windows theory, it's possible to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in all of our neighborhoods. By adopting this strategy, law enforcement can avoid antiquated zero-tolerance methods that leave minority neighborhoods feeling targeted and avoid the most divisive and dangerous policing tactics that disproportionately target minorities and place police in excessively dangerous situations.
Boiled down, the broken windows theory is a metaphor that if a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This criminology theory suggests that visible signs of crime, civil disorder, larceny and un-punished domestic violence create an environment that encourages further, more serious crimes. Unlike methods such as 'stop, question, frisk', broken windows policing is not based on reasonable suspicion that can cause disproportionate targeting of minorities. Rather, broken windows is a policy mandating that police address illegal behavior, such as public drinking and open drug dealing, fights, larceny and other acts considered to be minor offenses, with responses ranging from a warning and referral, to summons and arrest.
Most of this would look like clearing trash from the sidewalks, creation of harm reduction zones, fixing street lights, removing debris, securing abandoned buildings, enforcing building codes, arrests for domestic violence, larceny and open drug dealing. Mental health services and homeless aid referrals would be expanded through community policing and social services.
Just recently, the Boston Police Department expanded their community policing efforts by promoting Nora Baston to superintendent, leading the new Bureau of Community Engagement. Baston has stated her top priority will be mentoring young people and steering them into better opportunities, creating partnerships with the community to enhance trust and diversity within the department.
I fully support the Boston Police Department, Nora Baston and these strategies as District Attorney for Suffolk County. https://michaelmaloneyforda.com/
Many police departments already use elements of the broken windows theory in their overall community policing strategy, as stopping minor offenses and restoring order has repeatedly shown to prevent more serious crimes.
Effective policing should not be to simply apprehend criminals, but to eliminate the social conditions that breed crime, such as domestic violence, open drug dealing and gang activity. By eliminating the conditions that cause crime, future crime can be prevented. This can be implemented in a number of ways including community meetings, specific crime analysis and working with local private and government agencies to find non-traditional solutions.
The combination of community policing with the broken windows theory suggests that police departments look beyond traditional law enforcement models to identify the conditions that generate crime and the solutions to eradicate it. This new way of thinking is intended to look at crime in a more holistic view and address the urgent need to build trust and collaboration between police and the communities they serve, for the greater good of our citizens and police officers who serve and protect our community.
Contact: Linda Arian
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 617-419-6719
SOURCE Michael Maloney for Suffolk County District Attorney
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