Wednesday, January 16, 2008

NA Shadow Council on lawlessness, modern policing and a change in civic direction.

If you’ve not done so already, jump over to the NA Shadow Council blog and read the most recent postings. The excerpts I’m quoting here are very brief, and there’s far more to consider.

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A Proposition: Manage the Crisis Instead of Surrendering to Inertia

... and Job One is to attack the culture of lawlessness. For a couple of years we've concentrated on civil regulation. We've called for a regime of enforcement of basic common standards, of economic equity, of increased property values.

I am now convinced that the most important component for revitalizing New Albany is a commitment to modern policing, a commitment to dramatically reducing crime in our neighborhoods, a dedication to making New Albany a city of lawfulness instead of an anarchic shell that residents long to flee or that residents consider as the best they can afford.

And accomplishing that revitalization will require an investment in our police force, a recalibration of our enforcement policies, and a dramatic increase in the force structure.

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A Tough One

Last Thursday I was privileged to attend what turned out to be a tremendously enlightening forum on the future of our city. In particular, the forum addressed the current state of law enforcement in New Albany and some potential solutions to the accelerating decline in public safety that we face ...

... Our lack of seriousness about making New Albany safe and law-abiding has put out the welcome mat to lawbreakers.

I think it's fair to say that in much the way that New Albany has figuratively put out a sign welcoming sprawl and another sign welcoming slumlords, it has invested in neon signage that says "Welcom Crimnals." Typo intended.

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