Crime in St. Louis
The crime scene in St. Louis appears to be worse than ever. Shootings and assaults are reported every day and more of them are taking place in good neighborhoods. Aside from the devastation caused to people and communities, the crime has a negative impact on the economy of the area. More people are afraid to go out, and potential visitors are more likely not to come.
The activism surrounding police violence is absolutely on target. Readers must remember that the biggest cause of deaths among African American young men is violence from other African American men. Also police officers I have talked with, both white and black say they are not willing to aggressively go after crime due to the criticism they might receive.
In the end, there are simply too many people acting badly. Many of these folks are not trainable or employable. Mentoring efforts need to take place with at risk families from the time children are born to try to develop parenting techniques that minimize this type of behavior.
The St Louis Contrarian 