The growing crime wave, and how to counter it

 

As we've reported many times in these pages, our big cities are becoming overrun with crime and violence.  The latest report highlights Chicago, but much the same can be said of many other large, left-wing-run cities.

The decision to commit a crime in Chicago has never been easier. Criminals are almost guaranteed to profit because the chances of getting caught and punished have collapsed to near-zero. 

It’s a big reason why the city is on target to hit a post-pandemic high in major crimes in 2023, currently up 32 percent vs. last year. It’s also why crime is unlikely to slow down significantly any time soon. Mayor Brandon Johnson doesn’t show any signs of imposing a higher cost on the city’s criminals. And Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Cook County Chief Judge Tim Evans haven’t changed their soft approach to crime either.

The math is pretty straightforward. A demoralized, restricted police force. Plus a 1 in 20 arrest rate. Plus a high rate of unreported crime. Plus a dismal 911 response rate. Plus a city leadership that’s soft on crime. All that equals a near-zero chance of criminals ever getting punished.

Not until the costs of committing crime go way up – and the equation changes – will Chicagoans see any relief. 

The chance of getting arrested in Chicago for a major crime collapsed to just 5 percent in 2022. It was already a low 10 percent just four years ago.

More than 68,000 major crimes were reported in Chicago last year. Only 3,228 of them resulted in arrests.

The arrest rate for criminal sexual assault? Just 3 percent. Ditto for Motor Vehicle Thefts. Burglaries were at only 4 percent and Robberies, 5 percent.

For thefts over $500, the chance of getting busted is even lower, at just 1 percent. There were just 201 arrests out of 20,041 crimes reported last year. And you’ll avoid arrest 96 times out of 100 across any form of theft, which The New York Times recently reported. 

It gets even better for Chicago criminals. The above data is just for crimes that are actually reported. The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that nationally in 2019, “Only 40.9% of violent crimes and 32.5% of household property crimes were reported to authorities.” So the real chance of getting caught is even lower than the 5 percent.

There's more at the link.

If I lived in or near Chicago, I'd have moved already rather than subject myself to that danger.  As for other cities, I'll let news headlines speak for themselves.  Over just the past 24 hours, these reports have featured in just one newspaper:

Cops let suspect walk in heinous caught-on-camera NYC subway beating of 60-year-old woman

RIP Beverly Hills: Video shows high-end retail stores now shuttered amid LA crime wave

Short-staffed Austin police urge robbery victims not to call 911 as crime ravages city

I'm sure readers can supply many more such headlines on demand.  The problem is ALL OVER America.

So what do we do about it?  John Wilder has some basic ideas, covering not just crime but also other social ills.

If mobs are ruling the streets of San Francisco or Chicago or Malmo, the solution isn’t to study the problem with a commission.  The solution is to make crime much more uncomfortable than the reward for committing the crime.

That solution to stopping crime will involve dead criminals.  Oddly, it takes less to keep criminals in line than to stop criminality, but the solution almost always involves Rooftop Koreans and bar owners with very short shotguns and prosecutors that don’t prosecute good and honest people stopping crime.

If the problem is illegals flooding the southern border, the only actual solution is to make living in the United States a living hell for illegals.  I assure you, if sufficient pressure was applied, the illegals would deport themselves in weeks.

Have an anchor baby?  Fine.  It goes into an orphanage or with foster parents.  Illegals have to leave.  Something tells me the parents will pack up the kids as they head out.

Brought here as a young child and the United States is the only country they’ve ever known?  Not my problem.  They have to go back.

Drugs?  Simple solution.  I’ll leave that one to you.

Illegitimate kids?  Remove spousal support and child support and welfare.  Illegitimate kids will cease in a year and the baby-daddy with 20 different baby-mommas will disappear while those baby-mommas cease to have sex randomly.  Or, if they do?  They have to suffer the consequences.

What about the kids?  Yeah, heard it.  Don’t care.  It’s that sort of forced compassion that destroys nations, turns them into countries, and eventually leads to Balkanization.

I’m right and every person reading this knows it.

The wonderful part is that these solutions will take place.  Sadly, because the room is getting warmer, these solutions will take place only when the discomfort is so high that it will be unpleasant for all concerned.

Again, more at the link.

Mr. Wilder is right, of course - but the powers that be will never adopt his suggestions, because they're not politically correct.  Therefore, those of us who care about our country are probably going to have to do something about them ourselves, just as the famous "Rooftop Koreans" did in Los Angeles during the 1992 Rodney King riots.  (Language warning:  there are a few F-bombs towards the end of the video below.)

So, what to do about the mess we're in?  Brandon Smith suggests a way forward.

Say you are starting a “neighborhood watch” and people listen with an open mind. Say you are starting a militia, and people see images of fat rednecks playing Batman in the woods with their buttcracks hanging out (rednecks are some of my favorite people, by the way). They shut down immediately, and they might not even know why. It’s because they have been trained to react this way.

. . .

The reason the modern establishment media has been so hostile to the militia concept is because they fear patriot organization more than anything else. They want people isolated from each other, focused only on their own preparedness efforts but constantly vulnerable due to their limited ability to project defense or offense. If you are alone, your circle of security is your house and your front door – you are doomed. If you are part of a militia, your circle of security is your town, or your county, or perhaps even your entire state. You now have a chance to survive and stay free.

. . .

Militias need to exist whether they are approved or not. Cooperation at the state or county level should be pursued, but this is dependent on the honor of that particular local government. If they are not cooperative and are not honorable then citizens will have to organize anyway.

. . .

If a state government is not willing to back legally recognized militias, then it may be possible to organize at the county level. I would even say that the first county government to do this will start a firestorm and hundred of other counties will follow their example. All it takes is one to step forward. The same goes for state militias.

What would be the purpose of these militias? To act as a deterrent to forces with ill intent, first and foremost. We cannot allow the federal government and establishment elites to hold a monopoly on the ability to project power. If we do, then the country will be enslaved. And though I have faith in the power of asymmetric tactics, the 50 million+ gun owners now active in the US could be far more effective if they were working together to utilize those tactics. They would certainly offer a much more imposing obstacle to the elites.

Deterrence is the best possible defense. When that fails, better to have friends than to be alone.

Secondly, there is ample defense training going on all over America and there are millions of serious shooters here. Dare I say, there are more serious shooters here than in all other countries combined. And by “serious shooters” I mean skilled and dangerous shooters that can do extensive damage to an enemy. However, there is virtually no large unit training going on right now; everything is aimed at personal defense and sometimes small unit tactics. Militias would be useful in teaching Americans how to fight as a larger force if necessary.

Of course, that would be “paramilitary training” and that would be “bad,” but who cares? The optics are becoming less and less important as the system degrades and crisis rises. Finally, I think it’s time to draw the line in terms of the course our country is going, and establishing militias is a solid way to send a message.

More at the link.

I've said many times that in order to survive in a crime-ridden, insecure environment, we need to stand together with friends and family.  It's very hard for one couple (particularly with children) to prevent a home invasion or similar assault.  It's not nearly so hard if a couple of friends join in, and if all of the adults know what they're doing to ensure domestic security.  The same comes to evacuating trouble spots, or preventing rioters destroying part of your town.  Working together to survive beats dying alone, every time.  (I've buried enough friends and acquaintances in Africa over the years to be quite certain of that.  I carry a few scars to remind me of it if ever I should be in danger of forgetting the lesson.)

I can only suggest (very strongly!) that you, dear reader, take stock of your own situation, make contact with friends, family and acquaintances in your area, and discuss how to protect yourselves, your families and your property as the security situation deteriorates and crime increases.  In almost all our big cities, and increasingly in other areas too, you can no longer trust the authorities to do what's necessary to deal with crime and violence.  It's going to come down to you.

If the need arises, be ready, willing, equipped, trained and able to become a Rooftop Korean at a moment's notice.  You may have to.

Peter