One of the epicenters of economic misery is Detroit, Michigan.It should not be surprising therefore that Detroit is experiencing a crime wave. What is of greater concern is that the city Mayor, David Bing, reports that he is perplexed, and does not know what to do about it?! The Mayor has described crime in the city as "demoralizing." Where is the leadership and vision?
Need some ideas? Read Chapters 5 and 6 in Severin Sorensen, CPP, Economic Misery and Crime Waves (2009) for some concrete recommendations.
It appears that the city leadership is in need of a strategy. I strongly suggest adopting a posture of crime opportunity blocking. Situational Crime Prevention is an opportunity blocking strategy that seeks to:
1. increase the effort needed to commit crime at specific places;
2. increase the risk associated with crime at specific places;
3. reduce the rewards for crimes committed at specific places;
4. remove excuses for non-performance, non-cooperation, and even
loitering at specific places, thereby blocking opportunity crimes; in
some cultures, this might include shaming to discourage participation in
crime, or encourage positive behavior.
There is more, but getting started here will set them on the right direction.
