Neighborhood security, resident style

I note that, as predicted in these pages some time ago, Minneapolis residents are being forced to provide their own security, now that their police force is being demoralized, demonized and downsized.

Police say crime has surged in the months since Mr. Floyd's May 25 killing, in which a now-fired officer was captured on video with his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for an extended time. Shootings more than tripled in June to 75 from 24 a year earlier. In the first half of July, there were 43 shootings, compared with 29 in all of July 2019.

Police say the increase in crime follows a pattern seen in Ferguson, Mo., and other places where there have been high-profile officer-involved deaths and protests.

. . .

In late June, residents near a commercial strip that had been looted, and the 3rd Precinct station that was abandoned and burned, were seeing a surge of shooting and drug-related crime on their block.

"It got to the point where crime had no consequences," said Tania Rivera, 30, who runs a day-care service with her mother. "It was being done deliberately out in the open. Drive-through drug dealing, drive-through prostitution, everything from gunshots to assaults to sex out in the public. Everything you didn't want your neighborhood to look like."

So after a number of community meetings, neighbors began constructing a barrier to close off two blocks of their street, first with trash cans, then debris. For a while, a boat on a trailer protected one intersection. Eventually, a nearby iron maker constructed a permanent gate. Police gave their approval as long as emergency responders could get through if requested by the neighborhood.

Neighborhood men also began an armed patrol, kicking out anyone who didn't belong on the block after dark.

"We're not proud of that, but it needed to be done," Ms. Rivera said, adding that the patrols are continuing today.

"Most of the time it has been peaceful, other times not really," said Maria Gali, 56, Tania's mother, in an email. "Neighbors are armed, and some of them are veterans. They are very determined to defend their families, properties and the street."

There's more at the link.

I'm afraid that's going to become more and more the norm in many larger US cities.  It's not so much of a problem in smaller towns, where residents know the cops personally, and everyone helps each other.  (I almost feel sorry for any rioters and thugs who show their faces in any of the towns in my area.  The cops and the citizens are all primed and ready for action, and won't hesitate to deal with them at once, if not sooner.  Criminals know that, and know that they'll be dealt with just as summarily if necessary - so there's a lot less neighborhood crime.)

Generally, and even more so when police are under siege by the politically correct, the old saying is still true:  "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away".  Each of us needs to be ready, willing and able to provide our own security in their absence.  That applies not only to individuals, but to neighborhoods too.  If you haven't already established contact with your neighbors, now would be a very good time to do so.  Make sure they know about that news report, and start planning to protect your own homes and families.  It'll be too late to do so when trouble arrives.

Peter