So, in mid April our moronic DA announces this:

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his office will no longer prosecute most misdemeanor theft and marijuana crimes.

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And now we are seeing this one month later:

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Records show the city of Dallas had nearly as many homicides in May as it did for the first four months of the year.

While there were 41 homicides last month alone, the city had 49 homicides between January 1 and April 30 of this year.

Last year, the city had 15 homicides in the month of May, and 56 homicides during the first four months of the year.

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Which harkens back to this:

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The "broken windows" theory of crime prevention cleaned up New York City in the 1990s, turning an unlivable hell-hole into a more civilized city. And it was exactly the kind of petty crimes that Creuzot will now refuse to prosecute that got so many criminals off the street and improved the quality of life for all New Yorkers, rich and poor. The murder rate went way down, as did rates for violent crime. It turned out that many of those "petty criminals" also engaged in violent acts. Getting them off the streets of New York worked.

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double aught said:

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Marijuana I couldn't care less about. But not prosecuting theft is outrageous.

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FIFY and I completely agree.

double aught said:

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Marijuana I could care less about. But not prosecuting theft is outrageous.

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No one cares about weed including the police. Cruezot is a moron who has no idea what the police really do.

Bocephus said:

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nai06 said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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Let's see. When I had trouble finding a job out of college, I became forced to commit a violent act. Right?

Ahh, no. What kind of stupidity is that?

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Are you really trying to equate graduating with a college degree with coming directly from prison?


Her comments didn't come across well, but there is some truth to them. Finding a job fresh out of prison is incredibly difficult. Its pretty well known a lot of people with no other options turn to crime to support themselves. That doesn't give someone carte blanche to commit a crime however.

Saying you struggled finding a job with a fresh college degree is in no way comparable to someone who is a convicted criminal coming out of prison. It comes across as pretty tone deaf.

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We are in the greatest economy of our lifetime. If you can't find a job in the oil field then you don't want to work. She said that they were forced to do "VIOLENT CRIME." No one forces anyone to commit violence against another. That is a choice. The leader of the group who is supposed to fight and prevent crime, justifying violent behavior is about as bad as it gets. Are you supposed to tell the victims of the violent behavior that it's okay, bc the person who beat and robbed them was forced to do it by the mean old society?

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a couple of points

1. I'm not excusing anyone's behavior. I am trying to understand why someone would commit violent crimes after being in prison.

2. I can't imagine there are a lot of oilfield jobs I south Dallas.

91AggieLawyer said:

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nai06 said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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Let's see. When I had trouble finding a job out of college, I became forced to commit a violent act. Right?

Ahh, no. What kind of stupidity is that?

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Are you really trying to equate graduating with a college degree with coming directly from prison?


Her comments didn't come across well, but there is some truth to them. Finding a job fresh out of prison is incredibly difficult. Its pretty well known a lot of people with no other options turn to crime to support themselves. That doesn't give someone carte blanche to commit a crime however.

Saying you struggled finding a job with a fresh college degree is in no way comparable to someone who is a convicted criminal coming out of prison. It comes across as pretty tone deaf.

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You either didn't read my comment or you are intentionally focusing on an irrelevant part of it. The only reason I mentioned coming out of college was that was about the only time I've ever had a hard time finding a job. But whether I was fresh out of college or fresh out of prison, my POINT -- which was not difficult for anyone to pick up -- was that committing violence in response to not finding a job is not only unacceptable, it is obviously illogical. THAT was my point; not the timing of when I struggled to find a job. If that red herring was the only thing you found to argue here, you are truly intellectually bankrupt -- at least on this point, considering the effort you put into this. The "her comments didn't come across well" is blatant BS. She knew exactly what she was saying; when it went viral, others had to do damage control.

So forgive me for not supposedly (according to you) understanding the plight of those coming out of prison. Perhaps it is because I have chosen not to commit a felony? Maybe that's it. I haven't exactly found it difficult to live a felony free life. However, for the record, I'm not exactly uninformed in this area. I have a (first) cousin who did 3 years in the state pen and know another former church minister who did 7. Both did time for sex crimes and both are (or at least last time I checked were) employed. Neither felt the need to commit violence. Although I don't do criminal law, I've had clients over the years with criminal records who I represented on other matters. All were either employed or had businesses. Yes, several of those were of the same race the person in the video was.

So let's see: you're making hey of a totally irrelevant part of my point; THEN you're making an assumption that what I know is based ONLY on that irrelevant point (i.e. I don't know anything about people coming out of the joint); and FINALLY you want to float the accusation that I am the one who is tone deaf?

Seriously?

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Your stories and experiences are all well and good but are still just anecdotal. The most recent data shows the unemployment rate for felons is a little over 27%. That number rises to 35% for black men and 43% for black women. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression was around 25%.

None of that is an excuse to commit violent crimes. But, it should help you understand why people might do so. The longest I was ever unemployed was 8 months. I had the luxury of being able to burn through all savings so I could keep a roof over my head and food in my fridge. I ended up taking a job at a carwash until I could find something more stable that actually covers all my bills. Not everyone is as lucky as I was. At a certain point, people will become desperate and do anything to survive.

Public Safety Committee meeting this morning:

Wonder what changed in 2015/16

nai06 said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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nai06 said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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Let's see. When I had trouble finding a job out of college, I became forced to commit a violent act. Right?

Ahh, no. What kind of stupidity is that?

---

Are you really trying to equate graduating with a college degree with coming directly from prison?


Her comments didn't come across well, but there is some truth to them. Finding a job fresh out of prison is incredibly difficult. Its pretty well known a lot of people with no other options turn to crime to support themselves. That doesn't give someone carte blanche to commit a crime however.

Saying you struggled finding a job with a fresh college degree is in no way comparable to someone who is a convicted criminal coming out of prison. It comes across as pretty tone deaf.

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You either didn't read my comment or you are intentionally focusing on an irrelevant part of it. The only reason I mentioned coming out of college was that was about the only time I've ever had a hard time finding a job. But whether I was fresh out of college or fresh out of prison, my POINT -- which was not difficult for anyone to pick up -- was that committing violence in response to not finding a job is not only unacceptable, it is obviously illogical. THAT was my point; not the timing of when I struggled to find a job. If that red herring was the only thing you found to argue here, you are truly intellectually bankrupt -- at least on this point, considering the effort you put into this. The "her comments didn't come across well" is blatant BS. She knew exactly what she was saying; when it went viral, others had to do damage control.

So forgive me for not supposedly (according to you) understanding the plight of those coming out of prison. Perhaps it is because I have chosen not to commit a felony? Maybe that's it. I haven't exactly found it difficult to live a felony free life. However, for the record, I'm not exactly uninformed in this area. I have a (first) cousin who did 3 years in the state pen and know another former church minister who did 7. Both did time for sex crimes and both are (or at least last time I checked were) employed. Neither felt the need to commit violence. Although I don't do criminal law, I've had clients over the years with criminal records who I represented on other matters. All were either employed or had businesses. Yes, several of those were of the same race the person in the video was.

So let's see: you're making hey of a totally irrelevant part of my point; THEN you're making an assumption that what I know is based ONLY on that irrelevant point (i.e. I don't know anything about people coming out of the joint); and FINALLY you want to float the accusation that I am the one who is tone deaf?

Seriously?

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Your stories and experiences are all well and good but are still just anecdotal. The most recent data shows the unemployment rate for felons is a little over 27%. That number rises to 35% for black men and 43% for black women. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression was around 25%.

None of that is an excuse to commit violent crimes. But, it should help you understand why people might do so. The longest I was ever unemployed was 8 months. I had the luxury of being able to burn through all savings so I could keep a roof over my head and food in my fridge. I ended up taking a job at a carwash until I could find something more stable that actually covers all my bills. Not everyone is as lucky as I was. At a certain point, people will become desperate and do anything to survive.

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Again, VIOLENT crime. We are not talking about theft or burglaries. We are talking about preying on your fellow man. There is NO JUSTIFICATION for that. No one is forced to do that. It is a choice. There are plenty of people in this country who live in poverty and manage to not become felons.

yukmonkey said:

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Wonder what changed in 2015/16

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Without investigating it, I would say what they are classifying as murders. Probably less unexplained deaths all of a sudden.

nai06 said:

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Bocephus said:

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nai06 said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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Let's see. When I had trouble finding a job out of college, I became forced to commit a violent act. Right?

Ahh, no. What kind of stupidity is that?

---

Are you really trying to equate graduating with a college degree with coming directly from prison?


Her comments didn't come across well, but there is some truth to them. Finding a job fresh out of prison is incredibly difficult. Its pretty well known a lot of people with no other options turn to crime to support themselves. That doesn't give someone carte blanche to commit a crime however.

Saying you struggled finding a job with a fresh college degree is in no way comparable to someone who is a convicted criminal coming out of prison. It comes across as pretty tone deaf.

---

We are in the greatest economy of our lifetime. If you can't find a job in the oil field then you don't want to work. She said that they were forced to do "VIOLENT CRIME." No one forces anyone to commit violence against another. That is a choice. The leader of the group who is supposed to fight and prevent crime, justifying violent behavior is about as bad as it gets. Are you supposed to tell the victims of the violent behavior that it's okay, bc the person who beat and robbed them was forced to do it by the mean old society?

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a couple of points

1. I'm not excusing anyone's behavior. I am trying to understand why someone would commit violent crimes after being in prison.

2. I can't imagine there are a lot of oilfield jobs I south Dallas.

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Recidivism!

Bocephus said:

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nai06 said:

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Bocephus said:

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nai06 said:

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91AggieLawyer said:

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Let's see. When I had trouble finding a job out of college, I became forced to commit a violent act. Right?

Ahh, no. What kind of stupidity is that?

---

Are you really trying to equate graduating with a college degree with coming directly from prison?


Her comments didn't come across well, but there is some truth to them. Finding a job fresh out of prison is incredibly difficult. Its pretty well known a lot of people with no other options turn to crime to support themselves. That doesn't give someone carte blanche to commit a crime however.

Saying you struggled finding a job with a fresh college degree is in no way comparable to someone who is a convicted criminal coming out of prison. It comes across as pretty tone deaf.

---

We are in the greatest economy of our lifetime. If you can't find a job in the oil field then you don't want to work. She said that they were forced to do "VIOLENT CRIME." No one forces anyone to commit violence against another. That is a choice. The leader of the group who is supposed to fight and prevent crime, justifying violent behavior is about as bad as it gets. Are you supposed to tell the victims of the violent behavior that it's okay, bc the person who beat and robbed them was forced to do it by the mean old society?

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a couple of points

1. I'm not excusing anyone's behavior. I am trying to understand why someone would commit violent crimes after being in prison.

2. I can't imagine there are a lot of oilfield jobs I south Dallas.

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Buccees is paying $13 per hour for entry level. QT pays $30,000 per year starting off. Walmart service center is hiring and paying $16 per hour. Every restaurant I see is hiring. If you are not working, it is because you are choosing not to work. The jobs are out there.

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Provided you don't have a felony conviction, you are absolutely correct.

****** Kill Caught

So that's good.

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None of that is an excuse to commit violent crimes. But, it should help you understand why people might do so. ... At a certain point, people will become desperate and do anything to survive.

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No, I don't understand and no, it still doesn't help me understand the link between unemployment and VIOLENCE. You seem to be equating desperation with violence and for the life of me I can't figure out why. Putting aside the fact that people went to prison almost exclusively of their own bad choices, there are still many opportunities out there for those with prison records. Residential and commercial contractors will hire ANYONE -- they just want them to show up every day. One can acquire skills on the job and end up starting their own business. Or they can branch off and go become an electrician or plumber. At that point, it doesn't matter what your past is because if you do good work and are reliable, people will hire you without checking you out thoroughly. The same can be said of more white collar type jobs -- they just may not exist in South Dallas, and an interviewer may expect someone to shave, dress appropriately, pull his pants up, and have a good attitude rather than a chip on his shoulder about his self-inflicted plight.

This isn't about survival. There are umpteen government programs out there. You may have to move in with family or do things you really don't want to do, but guess what? I've had to do both, and I never committed a crime. 2008-9 was a pretty bad time fo me. My law partner left the firm and my employees took other jobs. My revenue dropped to the point where I couldn't replace them, so I was forced to do their jobs in addition to my own. My marketing efforts suffered and even though I was working 70 hour weeks to keep up, at least at first, my client list was dwindling and my income suffered tremendously. Many months I had enough for overhead and that was it. I no longer had enough portable business to go to another firm and I was overqualified for the few associate positions that did come open, so I was more or less stuck until things changed. They did, but slowly. Even now, I still do things on the side -- no so much for money but since I spend too damn much time at a desk -- but at least I'm prepared if things ever went south again. The thought of committing a crime, much less committing violence, never once entered my mind.

I can't believe you're still arguing the point. It is almost like you're trying to lead me down some rabbit hole and set me up for something.

Sadly, she's a very poor Job.

Southlake said:

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Sadly, she's a very poor Job.

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Great thread bump.