Are Crackdowns Good Policy?

Samaha CJ 7e

Chatper 7

Are crackdowns good policy?

Crackdowns, while apparently modestly successful in some places, raise questions about the proper balance between crime control and due process in a constitutional democracy bring the police into much greater contact with people’s lives. As a result, crackdowns limit the privacy and liberty of all people where they occur, not just of the individuals who commit crimes or “cause trouble.” Some residents protest that although crackdowns may reduce crime, they also turn their neighborhoods into “police states.” Young African American men, particularly, complain that the police “hassle” them simply because they are young, African American, and in the neighborhood. Inevitably, crackdowns will involve innocent people who have no intention to commit crimes or cause trouble.

Police crackdowns on drug dealing have produced mixed results. Heightened fear of drug offenses and frustration over the seeming lack of success in reducing their numbers have led to an increase in the use of crackdowns. The theory of drug crackdowns is that a steep increase in police presence will enhance at least the perceived risk of getting caught buying or selling drugs. Robert E. Worden, Timothy S. Bynum, and James Frank evaluated the costs and benefits of drug crackdowns.

Worden and his colleagues also surveyed the research on the effectiveness of a number of crackdowns.

The results were inconsistent. Some, such as a crackdown on street-level heroin dealing in Lynn, Massachusetts, produced all the benefits listed in Table 6.2. Interviews with residents and merchants indicated a substantial reduction in the visibility of heroin dealing. Interviews with treatment workers and addicts indicated that it was riskier to buy and sell heroin. Furthermore, treatment demand increased. Police crackdowns have produced mixed results according to empirical evaluations.

Assessing Crime-Attack Strategies

Crime-attack operations raise questions about the proper responses of the police in a constitutional democracy. Should the police mobilize their power only when either private individuals specifically request them to do so or when officers percent following the crackdown. Burglaries fell 38 percent, robberies fell 18.5 percent, and all other crimes against persons fell 66 percent in the year following the crackdown. However, there was no control group, so it is impossible to tell if these benefits accrued from the crackdown or from something else. A later, similar crackdown in Lawrence, Massachusetts, failed to produce the same results. Interviews with addicts indicated only a slight reduction in the availability of heroin. The numbers of crimes against persons fell 28 percent in the 28 months following the crackdown, but the numbers of burglaries, robberies, and thefts increased. Clearly, drug crackdowns produce definitely mixed results.

Consider the crime-attack tactic used by the Detroit police to reduce violations of underage liquor and tobacco sales.

“Decoys join police crackdown: Sweeps halt underage liquor, tobacco sales; sex offenders nabbed at freeway rest stops.” The Michigan State Police arrested 77 people in two weekend sweeps to crack down on teen-age drinking and smoking, as well as illegal sexual activity at highway rest stops. Using a 16-year-old and 17-year-old as decoys, troopers cited 36 store clerks for 90-day, $ 500-misdemeanors for selling alcohol and cigarettes to minors in Westland, Garden City, Taylor, Melvindale, Lincoln Park, Allen Park and CantonTownship on Friday and Saturday. “The only reason they stopped is they got writer’s cramp,” said Lt. Dennis Bolling, the commander of the Metro South police post in Taylor.

“It’s too easy for kids to buy alcohol or cigarettes.” It’s part of a “pro-active approach to crack down on illegal activity,” Bolling said. Only 10 percent of the stores surveyed declined to sell to the minors. “We find out where to buy from the kids. We talk to them and then go to the stores,” he said. “It’s pretty simple: Reduction in the visibility of drug dealing Reduction in the amount of drug using Reduction in the number of drug users Reduction in the number of street crimes associated with drug use and trafficking Improvement in the quality of life in the neighborhoods where crackdowns occur Improvement in residents’ attitudes toward police Increased numbers of officers More equipment Loss of success in activities elsewhere Increases in other crime Increase in police abuse of power Increased subversion by police of their power Erosion of residents’ respect for police authority Reduction in residents’ willingness to cooperate with police.

If they look under 27, (according to state guidelines) you have to check their ID.” Bolling said that one clerk was cited for allowing an under-age minor to purchase pornography, also a misdemeanor. The arrests are then referred to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, which may decide to issue fines against the stores.

State police also conducted four undercover operations at rest stops off Interstate 94 at Rawsonville Road in Van Buren Township and the Interstate 275 rest stop near Ford Road in CantonTownship, making 41 arrests for illegal sexual activity, including at least six for felony gross indecency, Bolling said. “We want to make the bathrooms safe so my kids can go and not be harassed,” Bolling said. “We’re not going to tolerate illegal activity.” Bolling added that his post plans to continue the decoy operations—at both liquor stores and rest stops—throughout the year, as well as step up patrols for drunken drivers.

CRITICAL THINKING

1. List all of the information provided in the article that supports the crackdown.

2. List all of the information provided in the article that does not support the crackdown.

3. Based on all of the information was the crackdown good policy? Defend your answer.