Zero Tolerance six months later…
The D&C has a report about the city’s Zero Tolerance program today (bold mine):
The Police Department credits Zero Tolerance with helping reduce the number of homicides by about 45 percent since its inception, compared with the same time frame last year.
Zero Tolerance is not a trend or a temporary fix for the city’s violent crime problem, but a policing philosophy designed to last, Chief David Moore has said. The initiative is no longer tied solely to police working long hours on overtime pay.
Phase II, which began in mid-January, relies on some overtime but also on the reassignment of officers to street patrols, creating a visible presence on the streets.
It’s a good read but leaves out mention of budgeting necessary to sustain this initiative.
It also doesn’t ask questions about the 2002-2003 statistics, which are almost identical to 2008 even though there was no Zero Tolerance policy in 2002-2003. See this graphic from the D&C report:
So, what was going on in 2002-2003 and what can we derive from that? There were about 11, 000 more people here then than there are today. Is this relevant? Are the citizens’ concerns being addressed? Are all options being examined?
These are questions that need to be answered.
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