Fostering Safety
It has been two years since Breonna Taylor was killed by Louisville police when they burst into her apartment in the middle of the night. This week the Washington Post published a study about the controversial police strategy that was linked to her killing. This strategy is being encouraged around the country and here in Detroit. It is behind the efforts of Detroit police to increase their reliance on technologies such as Project Green Light and ShotSpotter.
The philosophy is called “place network investigations” and encourages focusing police on specific areas of “high crime.” At the time of Breonna Taylor’s death, Louisville was one of only 3 cities that emphasized this strategy. They abandoned it as part of the investigation of her killing. Now, at least 9 other cities are adopting it.
This strategy is not new. Police have long targeted certain neighborhoods for “over policing” and “under protecting.” Since the 1980s and the crack epidemic police have targeted specific times of day and neighborhoods for an increased police presence. These areas became known as “hot spots” and some studies indicate the practice results in limited crime reduction. These studies also indicate that the hot spots “lead to more men of color being swept up into the criminal justice system.”
But as the ACLU points out, the “data” about crime reduction is controversial. Carl Takei, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU notes, “The data they have about where crimes are committed and by whom is all based on police decisions about where and how to collect the information. He goes on to explain, “It often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that the police will focus a great deal of resources on certain Black and Brown neighborhoods.
A more realistic assessment of this strategy comes from our neighbors in Chicago and their efforts to assess the ShotSpotter technology. ShotSpotter is a gun detection system that has been installed in Detroit to help lower crime in the city. Recently the Mayor and Police Chief announced they want to spend $7 million to expand the program using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The system uses microphones to pinpoint sources of gunfire in communities. This enables “real time” responses by police. The purpose of the system is to overcome the reluctance of many of us in communities that hear gun fire to report it to police. We know that all too often the police coming into our neighborhoods will only make matters worse.
In Chicago ShotSpotter played a critical role in the killing of Adam Toledo by police and in the killing of two police officers, Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Gary. An extensive study by Chicago’s Inspector General “analyzed 50,176 ShotSpotter notifications from last January through May. Just 9.1% indicated evidence of a gun-related offense was found. Only 2.1% of the alerts were linked directly to investigative stops, although other stops were detailed in reports that referenced the technology but didn’t correlate with a specific ShotSpotter notification.”
Such dangerous and ineffective technologies should not be supported.
There is one very effective way to reduce crime in a neighborhood. People on the streets looking out for one another. In Detroit in the 1980s, in response to increased drug trafficking and related violence in neighborhoods, some communities organized to walk through the neighborhoods once a week and highlight the drug houses for public scrutiny. In one neighborhood, the group WEPROS reduced overall crime by 80% in six months. No one was arrested or swept into prison. The slogan of the group was one of love for the young people, while hating the presence of drugs. This public activity led to strengthening ties with the local schools, creating opportunities for recreation, and encouraging the skills and talents of youth.
Expensive technologies only work after a crime has been committed. Caring for each other and creating community ties foster peace and safety among us.