Restoring law enforcement trust through community policing and economic opportunity

Public Economy

Crime Prevention Platform: National Republican Party

Restore confidence in the nation's law enforcement agencies on a federal and local level

One of the reasons that crime still festers in American inner cities is that there is a profound distrust for the police within these communities. This leads to a distrust of government and law and order as an important value to uphold. As detailed by Franz Doorman in Global development - Part 1, Problems, Chapter IV, the growing divide between rich and poor sharpens the sense that government does not represent 'the people,' only the wealthy, and creates a sense that striving for social mobility and community improvement serves no purpose (Doorman 2003:15). A life of crime, or at least, a tolerance of criminals, becomes acceptable, given a lack of other apparent available options.

To alter this self-fulfilling prophesy greater efforts must be made at the local level to institute community policing programs, so that individuals associate improved community health with improved law enforcement. Also there must be an effort to increase the recruitment of law enforcement personnel from within the community. It is crucial that the face of the law resembles individuals from the area.

Step 2: Change the media image of the criminal

In fact, it is a myth that poor people and minorities are committing the most crimes today. The losses to the public street crime totaled only $15.3 billion in 1993, but white collar-crime sustained a net loss to society of $200 billion (Kangas 1993). This was long before Enron and the other corporate accounting scandals of recent memory. It is essential that the public understand that there is no 'common' criminal, racially or socioeconomically, so that there is not a permanent unemployed underclass in our society. Positive images of young, black, male professionals are especially important to foster, and loans must be made available to community organizations that foster higher education and small businesses amongst minorities and the poor.

Step 4: Enhance accessibility to education

The average college tuition in 1999 was 8,086 U.S. dollars, accounting for 62% of the income of low-income families" (Randall 2000). This percentage has only increased. Tax incentives for low-income students who come from disadvantaged areas, regardless of their race will enhance social mobility and infuse dollars, through these individual's eventual earnings, into new segments of the economy. Also, if more individuals within the community stay in school, and use education to further their life goals, achievement within societal institutions will seem possible, and a life of crime will seem less attractive. Ensuring that students meet academic benchmarks in the lower grades must be a continuing part of the Republican Party as well, exemplified in the recent No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.