The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
The guy was coming out of the dry cleaners on a Saturday morning. He was walking over to the taco place when a homeless woman sprayed his eyes with pepper spray. She ran away, tossing bricks at cars as she went. The fire department came and helped the man pour milk into his eyes. Then he got his taco.
The police never came.
Why bother?
If they’d come, what would they have done? The firefighters are all paramedics, making them useful in situations like this. The police? Pretty much useless as things stand. They could arrest her, but then what?
Saturday in Venice, Calif. Venice is an expensive neighborhood if you’re one of those who actually pays to live there.
On the polls, it comes out as a problem of homelessness. Probe a little and we’re talking about crime. Probe a bit more and we’re talking about the police and the local prosecutor giving up control of the streets.
Defunding the police might as well be the theme of a ’60s movie. It is not happening, nor should it. Crime is up, but the fear of crime is up even more. One feeds the other.
There’s a famous study that was done of places residents in a particular neighborhood found dangerous. To no one’s surprise, a corner where young people hung out was considered among the most dangerous spots. In fact, it hadn’t been. But as concerns grew, people stayed away — and the more people stayed away, the more crime increased.
Fear of crime can easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy when it causes law-abiding people to adjust their conduct. If people are afraid to ride the buses, the buses become more dangerous. If they believe buses are safe, they will be.
Police presence matters not only because of what a police officer walking a beat can do but because of the way the rest of us behave when we think the police are there. Graffiti and disorder, what we consider quality-of-life offenses, affect crime because they affect the optics of who controls the street.
Cover it with graffiti and I’ll be looking for the gangbangers. Add a crossing guard and I’ll watch out for children and dogs. Add a security guard and he might tell the homeless woman to move on, something the police these days can’t even do. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a guard outside the taco stand. The private security business is thriving.
It wasn’t so long ago that the streets were filled with protesters challenging the overuse of force. Those issues remain as important as they ever were. But the crime issue cannot be a choice between toughness and racism or toughness will win.
If reformers do not embrace the growing fear of crime and address it with answers that include punishing that homeless woman for risking a man’s eyesight for no reason at all, then the demagogues will.
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