Zero tolerance worked in NY and everyone, including me, was thrilled when the squeegee men were reined in.

But why doesn't it work in Balto? And what about the troubling percentage of citizens arrested rate that Rob brings up?

Having lived in Balto and worked there, I think the problem is that there is just no critical mass of working adults to counter the hooligans. At my company, if I worked till sunset, which was always, the company would pay for a cab ride home for me so I wouldn't get attacked. And I lived in "tony" Federal Hill, but the walk from downtown to there, through the fabled but depressed Rouse harbor development, was incredibly dangerous.

To counter crime effectively, Balto needs to recruit companies and workers. The town relied on a few highly successful I banks, like Legg and Alex Brown, but when Brown went to NY it had a noticeable effect because the high-paid jobs market was so slim.

So my two cents is that Balto can solve its crime problem better by attracting jobs and companies than by executing its current strategy of arresting a large portion of the population. See: DC.
Leonardo | 07.03.07 - 5:01 pm | #

Of course zero-tolerance doesn't work - dead men tell no tales. If the police become zero-tolerant, then the criminals become zero-tolerant. The only reason zero-tolerance works on squeegee men is because those guys act independently and usually in neighborhoods they don't live in; a drug dealer is essentially a franchise operator and someone usually has his back.
Russ | 07.06.07 - 10:06 am | #