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July 16, 2009

Pursuit Policy (My response to the linked editorial)

I have no fantasies about getting the endorsement of the P.B.A., but we cannot have a “no pursuit” policy and hope to effectively fight crime. And what makes a car thief a non-violent offender? He’s stealing something that can be used as a deadly weapon from someone who will have to spend years of his life at hard work to replace it. I’m sure that most people would rather see a guy get away for kicking them in the crotch then get away for stealing something with 40 payments left.

Pursuit does not mean driving like a maniac in a '70’s cop show. Blockades can be set up. Unmarked cars can be used to box in the suspect. And we should be able to rely on the good judgment of the officers involved. Furthermore, the city should publicly encourage the use of vehicle recovery systems such as LoJack. Turning all of the traffic signals to red in a particular radius will stop traffic, making it more difficult for the suspect to maneuver. Plus any collision that may occur will be mitigated by the fact that only one vehicle is moving. A “no pursuit” policy promotes lawlessness. Such a policy increases crime and encourages criminals to drive in a hazardous manner knowing that that’s how to avoid capture. The resulting increase in crime results in our police officers being spread out too thin over the city. This means that when violent crimes occur, it will take longer for a police officer to respond.

I refer to this as the Peter Parker Principle. How many people are killed because we let “non-violent” criminals get away? You may cite the number of people killed in police pursuits. I’ll cite the number of people killed driving to the mall. Freedom is risky.

Richard Eldridge

Candidate for Mayor

June 20, 2009

"However, Eldridge does not explain whether he believes police response times are adequate or how he might improve them as mayor." (link)

A good article, but understandably, you probably didn't get a chance to review the entire website before you posted it. I reference a situation (http://www.eldridge2009.com/Summary.html) that I witnessed where the police arrived before the victim had finished reporting the crime. So, I am extremely satisfied with the response time. I also mention that the police have shown "competence, courtesy, and skill” in every encounter that I’ve had with them.

One way to improve response time is by triage-type prioritization, which I assume that they do. Amber Alerts and other serious crimes that are in the process of being committed would have the highest priority, but if you wake up in the morning and find that your garden gnomes are missing, that would have the lowest priority.

I also cite what Mayor Rudolph Giuliani did to reduce crime in his city. When he first came to office in New York, many citizens were harassed by panhandlers who would wipe the windows of cars stopped at intersections and expect to be paid, in spite of the fact that the drivers did not want this done. The mayor was told that there was nothing that he could do about it. But he did do something. He arrested them for jaywalking, and in the process, found that many of them were wanted on more serious offenses. So by enforcing smaller laws, he was preventing bigger crimes.

So the formula is -
more arrests = fewer criminals,
fewer criminals = fewer crimes,
fewer crimes = more available police officers,
more available police officers = faster response time.

Turn The Pier into a hotel.

I would like to turn The Pier into a hotel. While The Pier would still be owned by the city, the hotel would be owned by a private company. The historic and cultural integrity of The Pier will remain intact while the hotel will determine the design features that, based on their experience, will turn The Pier into a profitable entity.

Parking Meters

June 10, 2009
I am not anti-parking meter. But the city government is not in business to make money. It's in business to make money for its citizens. Parking regulations should be set up for one purpose only, to keep a steady flow of customers to the businesses in the area. If parking is too restrictive, people will not want to do business downtown. If it's too lax, people may stay long after they've stopped spending money, occupying a space that a paying customer could use.
Parking rates should be agreed upon and set by the businesses in the area. The city will make more revenue by their increased revenue.

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