There’s nothing petty about petty crime. Tolerate it, and society descends into disorder.
You’re standing in line at Starbucks and watch a freeloader go to the front, pick out a sandwich and walk out without paying. No one says a word.
Or you pay your bills, then find out thieves have robbed the blue USPS box to abscond with your checking information and empty your account. That happened to me last week.
The thieves fish mail out of the box or use stolen USPS keys sold on the internet. This crime is surging, but the police and banks shrug their shoulders and advise going directly to the post office or using electronic banking.
Walk into a drug store to buy deodorant and toothpaste. They’re locked up behind glass. A distraught Duane Reade employee explained why. Shoplifters waltz in, fill bags with merchandise and walk out. Management prohibits employees from stopping them.
Banks and retailers are forced to accept these crimes as a cost of doing business. Law enforcement officials are downgrading the penalties for many petty crimes. But the public is rattled and rightly so.
Batman, the cloaked crime fighter from Gotham, got it right. Criminals take advantage of weak laws and weak law enforcement.
Allowing petty crime — shoplifting, carjacking, turnstile hopping, check forging and vandalism — is a choice. California led the way, adopting Proposition 47 in 2014 to reduce penalties for these crimes. Many other states followed and no surprise, crimes increased.
Prosecutors are too ready to assign victimhood to perpetrators instead of to the rest of us, who are disgusted by the lawlessness.
You’d think that Jean Lugo-Romero, caught after robbing five Walgreens stores in San Francisco last May and June, would be in jail now. Absolutely not. The San Francisco Public Defender’s office states that “as an indigent individual suffering from housing instability,” Lugo-Romero “needed services and he’s now getting them.”
Manhattan’s previous District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced in 2017 he would stop prosecuting farebeaters. Now, a steady stream of them walks right by cops, while the rest of us patsies pay to ride.
Vance’s successor, Alvin Bragg, is ceding even more to the criminals, refusing to jail armed shoplifters.
Wielding a pocket knife, 43-year-old William Rolon was arrested two weeks ago for stealing $2,000 worth of cold medicine from a Duane Reade in Manhattan, his 39th arrest overall and the second time he hit that store. But he was charged only with misdemeanor shoplifting, not first-degree robbery, the charge he would have faced before Bragg’s new policy.
Worried about locking your car at a stop light? There’s good reason. Carjackings have doubled and even tripled since last year in major cities. It’s making it harder to get an Uber or Lyft because gig drivers are quitting. More than one-third feel unsafe, according to Pew Research.
But apparently municipal leaders don’t believe prosecuting carjackers is the answer. In Chicago, only 4.5% of offenses result in charges. In Minneapolis, it’s a discouraging 2%. Several Minneapolis aldermen blame Hyundai and Kia manufacturers because the cars can be broken into without an alarm sounding.
Anything to avoid blaming the criminal.
Sunday, California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared at the Los Angeles railway terminal, the target of repeated looting. Standing amid the ransacked packages, he said, “I don’t think anyone particularly cares who’s to blame.”
Wrong, Governor. Your message invites more crime.
To restore civility, voters need to elect serious crime fighters. New Yorkers might have a shot with newly elected Mayor Eric Adams, if his actions match his words.
Tuesday morning, he said, “We can’t continue to create an environment in our city where anything goes,” including farebeating and shoplifting.
Californians failed to recall Newsom, but they’re fighting to recall ultra-lefty DAs in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The fate of these cities depends on voters choosing leaders determined to crack down on all lawbreakers, not just murderers.
Because no crime is minor if it happens to you.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and author of “The Next Pandemic,” available at Amazon.com. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey.
COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS.COM
Dear politicians. Either u address the growing crime problem or the people will.3 letters: CHL
For the first time in my life im 77 years old, im afraid for my family and me living here in the United StatesFor the first time in my life im ashamed of Congress ashamed of the Presidency of the United States !!!Roll over in your graves WWII Korea Viet Nam Desert Storm dead military you all died for nothing when we have ppl now running this country wh have joined our enemies who killed you!!What about all the police officers who died protecting us from unthankful evil thugs thieves murderers etc etc…..IM REALLY AFRAID TO LIVE IN AMERICA ANYMORE
People push against boundaries; that starts in childhood. When these woke idiots de-criminalize “small” things, it only encourages people to move on to “bigger” things. As Barney often said, “We need to nip it–nip it in the bud.”
Equal Justice or NO Justice
Cant do both ways
See the May riots 2020
“Woke” prosecutors such as Gascon and Bragg are in violation of their oath of office. In their oath of office , they swore to uphold & defend the constitution and to enforce the laws of their States and the Constitution . These ‘gentlemen‘ among others , are guilty of malfeasance in office . And have violated their oaths . They are criminals . They should be summarily pulled from office and charged with their crimes . They would do it to you .
Last year my atm card got hacked 4, maybe 5 times! I had to get a new card twice. The bank replaced what was stolen but where is the online banking security!
In this new year on January 6th, we had 5 packages possibly stolen from our front porch. The post office “investigated” and have declared that the packages were definitely delivered. That tracking device says it was so!
Fortunately for us, each company that we ordered from has either reimbursed us or replaced what was “misplaced!
The only security in anything at all in this world is God!
Some retailers operate on less then1% profit margin! I worked for one chain and the profit margin was .09%. Meaning the loss (theft) of product cost will be passed on to the customer. Yup, even the rich will be paying more. Simply put for every dollar lost it will take the retailer about $100 to $110 to replace one lost dollar, and that does not include profit, it’s is called overhead: employees, insurance, utilities, taxes, etc.
And what are the police to do when they make an arrest and on the same day the DA releases them back out onto the streets to repeat the crimes.
The leadership of the cities and local communities have failed in the execution of their duties and because of that the law abiding citizens are paying the price through fear, confusion and paying more for product. I wonder if the CCP allow this type of behavior in their country!?
When people cross our borders illegally it’s considered a misdemeanor but when they break into our homes it’s a felony. That does not sit well with me. The USA is MY HOME just as much as the house I live in and hence, the illegals coming across our borders without permission are ALSO invading my home and the homes of everyone living in this country legally. To me that also should be a felony!
Crime, at least to those who recognize it, is exactly that, crime. Then we watch Hillary Clinton lie on TV to the members of congress and we watch Schiff lie and lie and lie. They are criminals also, right? Are they in prison? Naw, they are immune. Why? Well, let’s see. It seems selling a substantial amount of America’s uranium is not a big deal. Adam Schiff can lie to congress and the American people with no fear. Nancy the pig is holding American citizens in a jail not fit for her. I see the problem this way: To many politicians are sold out and cannot put others on trial because it would come back to their door. OKAY, I AM 74 AND I AM READY TO KNOCK ON THOSE DOORS. WHY CAN’T WE FIND ENOUGH CONGRESSPERSONS WHO WILL STAND UP AND FIGHT? I WOULD PUT JIM JORDAN IN CHARGE OF A COMMITTEE TO START THE BIG BALL ROLLING. FELLOW AMERICNS, PLEASE STAND WITH ME AGAINST THIS CRAP.
This will not stop until we as citizens make it stop. Start shooting thieves and looters. And when the Democrats go after you for stopping crime when they refuse to stop it then you shoot them. Democrats are foolish but everyone understands a good old fashioned beat down.Democrats brought this crap on and it’s up to us to finish it. You can not get in trouble for following the no rule that they have set!
Every patriotic American should carry a firearm
Okay, the article brings up the known problem of excusing the criminals, with the excuse that they are victims of the environment they live in. Does anyone notice that most of these liberal-thinkers have not presented a means to help better that problem? What created those problems was the liberal thinking that gentrifying the areas by removing the residents to just another area that will not be taken care of. The new philosophy under discussion in New York is to remove variance control of property development so that residential property can be sold to developers who will replace single housing units with complex multi-dwelling units despite the lack of parking and other effects on the area. In other words, create more non-maintained properties with absentee owners raking in the big bucks. The majority of renters assume that their rent covers maintenance and repair.
I don’t understand the attitude that one is not responsible for the consequences of their actions. Okay, we have had too harsh of reactions to an action, but you can’t put everything into one neat answer to solve the problem. (Too many different reasons). Those loudly demanding less policing and more help aren’t helping the problem by hiring private security for themselves and leaving us to deal with people who think they can do anything (rob, hurt, kill) with no consequences than a mere slap on the wrist each time they get arrested and arraigned. No bail for getting out of the arrest should not mean nothing happens if the individual doesn’t show up for the sentencing. Enough talk, time to actually do something to make people responsible. Life is not just lollipops. And none of this, I am rich so rules don’t apply to me attitude either.
Thanks for a very good article about the crime wave hitting United States. Go back to the 50-60s and into 70s when kids were taught right & wrong and by public schools. One of the problems is when all prayer was removed from the schools (and by the way that is a goal of communism)..
The bottom line is that the “Broken Window Theory” is spot on. I’ve policed in NYC when it was in chaos and I was a part of the work that brought the city back to life and saw the property values go up as the crime rate went down. People that moved out of the 5 boroughs were moving back in and things were great. That happened under Giuliani and it was as simple as enforcing laws and treating all crimes….. as crimes. Once a place is considered weak on crime, the crime rate continues to increase. Criminals will leave a strict city/state and actually go to a city/state that treats crime less seriously and doesn’t enforce its laws properly.
This is not the fault of the police. They are being told to stand down. It is the fault of the elected mayors and governors and the district attorney’s that are not doing the job they have sworn to do. It is up to the voter to get rid of these people that are in office and not doing their jobs. If someone walks into a store in my state, they will be lucky to escape with their head…….. IF they don’t go into a major chainstore. The major chains seem to be following the poor examples of their counterparts in liberal, democratic run cities and states. They do almost nothing when burglarized or robbed.
The police here are enforcing the laws but some stores are not calling the police. Well, which stores do you think are getting hit up over and over again? Not the stores that are taking action. This is a perfect example of why we must be tough on ALL crime. It all goes back to the “Broken Window Theory”. It’s not just a theory, it works.
I’ve been a part of the “before and after” when living and policing in an area that no longer treats any crimes as “petty” Get tough on crime and watch your city/state become prosperous again. Oh yeah, and you and your loved ones will be safer as well.
I knew when the defund the cops horse hockey started that the resulting crime would be an excuse to go after guns. We never hear them suggest actually going after the criminals themselves. Biden in NYC today sounded like an uninformed lun.
I’m learning more now than I ever did in school. In my younger school days I was a sickly kid…battled with severe Athsma. That didn’t help with my brain cell activity. They say when over time, struggling to breath from having Athsma attacks, one doesn’t get enough Oxygen which destroys brain cells. So I didn’t get a great start in life. I also hated school. Probably a good thing with what the schools have been teaching our kids all these years.
But what I have learned these past few years about what’s happening regarding defunding Police is, that this tyrannical government under Soros and Obama is going to eventually rid this country of all Police Department agencies to establish Military policing in the nation to gain total control over the citizens. If this is the case, morally competant people who are holding any high office in this country need to get their act together and save this country from this evil!! WE need to be holding this country up in furvent prayer day and night. This cannot be ignored just because it’s too hard to think about. This is real, if in fact the Communists plan is to install a Military presence in every facet of our lives!! I can hardly believe this is happening to a country that was once the greatest country in this world. Dear God in Heaven, help us!!
Be cautious with the statement “Law enforcement officials are downgrading the penalties for many petty crimes.” The police have no power or authority to downgrade penalties. Only state legislatures have that power. Ask most line level officers about how they feel and they will express the same frustration. Most departments don’t have the resources or personnel to investigate petty offenses that aren’t committed in their presence. While not investigating petty offenses only encourages the criminal behavior, there are more “serious” crimes that drain the limited police resources.
What the law makers don’t understand is that any crime affects someone, whether it’s the theft of a kids bike or a murder. There is no such thing as a victimless crime. Prostitution often involves human trafficking. Drug use destroys families.
The crux of the problem is that law makers are so hungry for power that they will sell out their constituents. They will blame guns and anything/anyone as long as it furthers their power grab.
I boggles my mind that the liberals/far left can support “defund the police and support lawmakers saying that crime is OK. I have never seen such ignorance of so many people. They wouldn’t be happy if they were a victim, I’m sure. Didn’t think that our Lord and Savior could make such idiots, but it sure looks like it. The crime has to stop and stop real soon. Most of us will not tolerate this stupid idea. The Dems should all go back to school and learn about socialism and communism because apparently they know nothing about it.
You, liberals will have to stand before God someday. Don’t think it will be a pretty thing.
LET’S GO BRANDON……..MAGA!!!!!!!!!!!!
For the first time in my life im 77 years old, im afraid for my family and me living here in the United StatesFor the first time in my life im ashamed of Congress ashamed of the Presidency of the United States !!!Roll over in your graves WWII Korea Viet Nam Desert Storm dead military you all died for nothing when we have ppl now running this country wh have joined our enemies who killed you!!What about all the police officers who died protecting us from unthankful evil thugs thieves murderers etc etc…..IM REALLY AFRAID TO LIVE IN AMERICA ANYMORE
People push against boundaries; that starts in childhood. When these woke idiots de-criminalize “small” things, it only encourages people to move on to “bigger” things. As Barney often said, “We need to nip it–nip it in the bud.”
Equal Justice or NO Justice
Cant do both ways
See the May riots 2020
“Woke” prosecutors such as Gascon and Bragg are in violation of their oath of office. In their oath of office , they swore to uphold & defend the constitution and to enforce the laws of their States and the Constitution . These ‘gentlemen‘ among others , are guilty of malfeasance in office . And have violated their oaths . They are criminals . They should be summarily pulled from office and charged with their crimes . They would do it to you .
Last year my atm card got hacked 4, maybe 5 times! I had to get a new card twice. The bank replaced what was stolen but where is the online banking security!
In this new year on January 6th, we had 5 packages possibly stolen from our front porch. The post office “investigated” and have declared that the packages were definitely delivered. That tracking device says it was so!
Fortunately for us, each company that we ordered from has either reimbursed us or replaced what was “misplaced!
The only security in anything at all in this world is God!
Some retailers operate on less then1% profit margin! I worked for one chain and the profit margin was .09%. Meaning the loss (theft) of product cost will be passed on to the customer. Yup, even the rich will be paying more. Simply put for every dollar lost it will take the retailer about $100 to $110 to replace one lost dollar, and that does not include profit, it’s is called overhead: employees, insurance, utilities, taxes, etc.
And what are the police to do when they make an arrest and on the same day the DA releases them back out onto the streets to repeat the crimes.
The leadership of the cities and local communities have failed in the execution of their duties and because of that the law abiding citizens are paying the price through fear, confusion and paying more for product. I wonder if the CCP allow this type of behavior in their country!?
When people cross our borders illegally it’s considered a misdemeanor but when they break into our homes it’s a felony. That does not sit well with me. The USA is MY HOME just as much as the house I live in and hence, the illegals coming across our borders without permission are ALSO invading my home and the homes of everyone living in this country legally. To me that also should be a felony!
Crime, at least to those who recognize it, is exactly that, crime. Then we watch Hillary Clinton lie on TV to the members of congress and we watch Schiff lie and lie and lie. They are criminals also, right? Are they in prison? Naw, they are immune. Why? Well, let’s see. It seems selling a substantial amount of America’s uranium is not a big deal. Adam Schiff can lie to congress and the American people with no fear. Nancy the pig is holding American citizens in a jail not fit for her. I see the problem this way: To many politicians are sold out and cannot put others on trial because it would come back to their door. OKAY, I AM 74 AND I AM READY TO KNOCK ON THOSE DOORS. WHY CAN’T WE FIND ENOUGH CONGRESSPERSONS WHO WILL STAND UP AND FIGHT? I WOULD PUT JIM JORDAN IN CHARGE OF A COMMITTEE TO START THE BIG BALL ROLLING. FELLOW AMERICNS, PLEASE STAND WITH ME AGAINST THIS CRAP.
This will not stop until we as citizens make it stop. Start shooting thieves and looters. And when the Democrats go after you for stopping crime when they refuse to stop it then you shoot them. Democrats are foolish but everyone understands a good old fashioned beat down.Democrats brought this crap on and it’s up to us to finish it. You can not get in trouble for following the no rule that they have set!
Every patriotic American should carry a firearm
Okay, the article brings up the known problem of excusing the criminals, with the excuse that they are victims of the environment they live in. Does anyone notice that most of these liberal-thinkers have not presented a means to help better that problem? What created those problems was the liberal thinking that gentrifying the areas by removing the residents to just another area that will not be taken care of. The new philosophy under discussion in New York is to remove variance control of property development so that residential property can be sold to developers who will replace single housing units with complex multi-dwelling units despite the lack of parking and other effects on the area. In other words, create more non-maintained properties with absentee owners raking in the big bucks. The majority of renters assume that their rent covers maintenance and repair.
I don’t understand the attitude that one is not responsible for the consequences of their actions. Okay, we have had too harsh of reactions to an action, but you can’t put everything into one neat answer to solve the problem. (Too many different reasons). Those loudly demanding less policing and more help aren’t helping the problem by hiring private security for themselves and leaving us to deal with people who think they can do anything (rob, hurt, kill) with no consequences than a mere slap on the wrist each time they get arrested and arraigned. No bail for getting out of the arrest should not mean nothing happens if the individual doesn’t show up for the sentencing. Enough talk, time to actually do something to make people responsible. Life is not just lollipops. And none of this, I am rich so rules don’t apply to me attitude either.
Thanks for a very good article about the crime wave hitting United States. Go back to the 50-60s and into 70s when kids were taught right & wrong and by public schools. One of the problems is when all prayer was removed from the schools (and by the way that is a goal of communism)..
The bottom line is that the “Broken Window Theory” is spot on. I’ve policed in NYC when it was in chaos and I was a part of the work that brought the city back to life and saw the property values go up as the crime rate went down. People that moved out of the 5 boroughs were moving back in and things were great. That happened under Giuliani and it was as simple as enforcing laws and treating all crimes….. as crimes. Once a place is considered weak on crime, the crime rate continues to increase. Criminals will leave a strict city/state and actually go to a city/state that treats crime less seriously and doesn’t enforce its laws properly.
This is not the fault of the police. They are being told to stand down. It is the fault of the elected mayors and governors and the district attorney’s that are not doing the job they have sworn to do. It is up to the voter to get rid of these people that are in office and not doing their jobs. If someone walks into a store in my state, they will be lucky to escape with their head…….. IF they don’t go into a major chainstore. The major chains seem to be following the poor examples of their counterparts in liberal, democratic run cities and states. They do almost nothing when burglarized or robbed.
The police here are enforcing the laws but some stores are not calling the police. Well, which stores do you think are getting hit up over and over again? Not the stores that are taking action. This is a perfect example of why we must be tough on ALL crime. It all goes back to the “Broken Window Theory”. It’s not just a theory, it works.
I’ve been a part of the “before and after” when living and policing in an area that no longer treats any crimes as “petty” Get tough on crime and watch your city/state become prosperous again. Oh yeah, and you and your loved ones will be safer as well.
I knew when the defund the cops horse hockey started that the resulting crime would be an excuse to go after guns. We never hear them suggest actually going after the criminals themselves. Biden in NYC today sounded like an uninformed lun.
I’m learning more now than I ever did in school. In my younger school days I was a sickly kid…battled with severe Athsma. That didn’t help with my brain cell activity. They say when over time, struggling to breath from having Athsma attacks, one doesn’t get enough Oxygen which destroys brain cells. So I didn’t get a great start in life. I also hated school. Probably a good thing with what the schools have been teaching our kids all these years.
But what I have learned these past few years about what’s happening regarding defunding Police is, that this tyrannical government under Soros and Obama is going to eventually rid this country of all Police Department agencies to establish Military policing in the nation to gain total control over the citizens. If this is the case, morally competant people who are holding any high office in this country need to get their act together and save this country from this evil!! WE need to be holding this country up in furvent prayer day and night. This cannot be ignored just because it’s too hard to think about. This is real, if in fact the Communists plan is to install a Military presence in every facet of our lives!! I can hardly believe this is happening to a country that was once the greatest country in this world. Dear God in Heaven, help us!!
Be cautious with the statement “Law enforcement officials are downgrading the penalties for many petty crimes.” The police have no power or authority to downgrade penalties. Only state legislatures have that power. Ask most line level officers about how they feel and they will express the same frustration. Most departments don’t have the resources or personnel to investigate petty offenses that aren’t committed in their presence. While not investigating petty offenses only encourages the criminal behavior, there are more “serious” crimes that drain the limited police resources.
What the law makers don’t understand is that any crime affects someone, whether it’s the theft of a kids bike or a murder. There is no such thing as a victimless crime. Prostitution often involves human trafficking. Drug use destroys families.
The crux of the problem is that law makers are so hungry for power that they will sell out their constituents. They will blame guns and anything/anyone as long as it furthers their power grab.
I boggles my mind that the liberals/far left can support “defund the police and support lawmakers saying that crime is OK. I have never seen such ignorance of so many people. They wouldn’t be happy if they were a victim, I’m sure. Didn’t think that our Lord and Savior could make such idiots, but it sure looks like it. The crime has to stop and stop real soon. Most of us will not tolerate this stupid idea. The Dems should all go back to school and learn about socialism and communism because apparently they know nothing about it.
You, liberals will have to stand before God someday. Don’t think it will be a pretty thing.
LET’S GO BRANDON……..MAGA!!!!!!!!!!!!