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What Gives Criminals Power?
In 2015, there was a shooting that left 11 injured and 1 person dead on a Saturday afternoon in Detroit. Detroit’s Police Chief James Craig begged the black community to help the police catch the shooters. Chief Craig said he understood the fear of reprisal, but demanded to know if we were going to let these “urban terrorists” take over our neighborhood.
The president of the Michigan Chapter of the National Action Network chastised Chief Craig for calling the shooters “urban terrorists”. He insisted that these young people didn’t know any better. He also said these young people were “products of poverty” and “bad education policies”, with no other options.
Detroit’s homicide rate didn’t drop the next year, but there was a small decrease in violent crime. Chief Craig attributed the progress to improved police-resident relationships. One Detroit resident said the more people get involved, the safer we all will be. What gives criminals power is when people don’t speak out.
That raises a serious question.
When the local National Action Network and other activist groups defended the youth by blaming the youth’s transgressions on “the system”, did the activist groups deter more Detroit residents from reporting violent crimes than Chief Craig was able to encourage?