Policy Leads To Crime Prevention

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The prevention of crime is something that most American citizen want. How to reduce the wave of crime that has steadily emerged has divided Americans from all walks of life. Some say that gun control laws are not strict enough resulting in more fire arms on the streets and more violent crimes that could be avert. Gun enthusiast vehemently support the idea that guns kill people, not people; in fact, they point to evidence where guns have protected “good” people from “bad” people who have guns. Many potential solutions have been provided.

Availability of Weapons
America has been the victim of sixteen mass shootings in 2012 alone. This culminated in the systematic killing of twenty plus victims of an elementary school in Connecticut this past December. CNN, in the wake of the event, host piece after piece of whether high powered assault rifles and high capacity ammunition clips should be available to the public. Much criticism was placed on the American mental health care system that was viewed as a system that did not work. Again the NRA, who was initially silent on the issue, put forth a solution that in order to prevent this type of crime from occurring again, every school should have armed guards. Their solution did not receive much support and seemed to not take into account the context in which the crime happened. The NRA received criticism from within the organization itself as not representing the majority of its constituents. Opponents of this view suggest that the mental health care system needs to be repaired and an assault weapons ban needed to be reinstated to take these types of weapons off the streets.

War On Drugs
In 2011, 1.53 million arrest were made for non-violent drug related crimes. If crime reduction is important than this figure needs to be addressed. Millions of Africans Americans are housed in prisons for breaking the law, specifically drug laws. According to the Drug Policy Alliance 757,969 people were arrested for marijuana violations, eighty-six per cent where arrest for possession alone. Due to its drug policy, America has the highest incarceration rate – 1 in 99 people. Proponents of the drug war support the idea that legalizing the drug leads to more people using it which they are against; however, no evidence has surfaced that suggest marijuana is a schedule 1 narcotic. Opponents of the drug war claim that drug addiction is a medical condition and cannot be dealt with by the prison system. To reduce a major portion of U.S. “crime” and money wasted on the war, some suggest legalizing the drug and allowing health clinics to deal with the addicts. It should be a telling fact that the drug cartels are lobbying for more prohibition. The longer the drug war continues the more profitable it becomes for those involved in the trade.

While all around crime prevention is something most would support, the fact remains that people predisposed to violence and drug use, which is dealt with properly would lead to an overall reduction in crime, need mental health care and a better education system that will help identify those who are more likely to deal with problems and frustrations through violence or self-abuse. This is the only real solution that seems to be offered to the American people in an era where lobbyists are able to manipulate elected officials due to campaign donations.

Byline: Trevor Walker has dedicated his life to legal issues regarding federal criminal defense and will continue to do so in the future.