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In 2022, I warned America in an Opinion pieces about the “Advent of Feral Man.” In that Op Ed, Myers wrote, “As a criminologist with years of actual field experience as a law enforcement officer, I have seen the worst of man, and often the best of man. However, the last few decades have been a quick descent into the worst of man. I call this current phenomenon, the advent of the feral man. Research has shown that mankind can be cruel, but the cruelty must have some sort of root within a person’s own psychopathy, often influence by cruelty, the influence of anti-social authority figures, peer pressure, and other social interactions. The most fundamental reason criminogenic behavior occurs is a lack of faith, family, and formation. In 2024, we are already seeing the continued increase in violent crime, rampage, mayhem, arson, school shootings, swatting and the breakdown of American systems of justice and stability. And it’s far worse than the data indicates as crime in general is under-reported or not reported at all. We are seeing an increase in Doxing and Swatting. Heck, we even see it in some degree in sports, just think of the NIL/Transfer Portal and the unintended consequences it will cause on young student/athletes, especially young men. What is the Wilding of America contributed too? We are living in the day of social contagions. The continued increase in the dark psychological traits, such as the Dark Tetrads and those abhorrent behaviors of narcissism, Machiavellianism, certain psychopathy (like the Seven Deadly Sins, e.g.: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) and final the inclusion of sadism. All which can be fostered by negative observational learning and rapidly spreading information cascades from technology and social media where bandwagon effects can allow for a fertile ground of group think, group identify, group acceptability, deindividuation, anonymity, and diffusion of responsibility. I have a book that I hope to release sometime in 2024 that will be an expansion of the Op Ed the Advent of Feral Man.
And that’s my criminal justice oration for the week!
Pro-Hamas protesters vandalized and defaced the entrance to Los Angeles National Cemetery over the weekend and marched around the ground where nearly 90,000 veterans are laid to rest. The protesters spray-painted “FREE GAZA” with an upside-down triangle and “INTIFADA” on the entrance to the cemetery. “The Los Angeles National Cemetery is where our nation’s heroes are laid to rest, and any act of vandalism is unacceptable,” the cemetery wrote in a statement posted on Facebook. “We are taking immediate steps to restore the Los Angeles National Cemetery sign to its original state, and we are working with law enforcement on their investigation. Because this investigation is ongoing, we have no further comment at this time.”
Dr. C’s Opinion: This lawlessness cannot stand! What has happened to LA? Is no one afraid of the criminal justice system? Is no one afraid of being prosecuted? If these acts are not responded to quickly and with the full force of the justice system, then it will only embolden other acts and not just LA but everywhere!
In closed-door congressional testimony, former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci said that federal social distancing guidance during the pandemic was likely not based on any data. Fauci's comments came during the second of two seven-hour rounds of transcribed, but non-public, testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The repeated federal recommendation that people keep six feet of distance between themselves and others "sort of just appeared," said Fauci.
Dr C’s Opinion: Why is this important information as a criminologist to share? Well, the feds' oft-repeated six-foot rule informed numerous state and local pandemic restrictions, including mask mandates and capacity limitations at businesses. Washington, D.C.'s mask mandate, for instance, required people to wear masks outside when one couldn't reliably keep six feet away from other people. People across the country were stopped, detained and in some cases arrested. Fines were levied. We need to move away from using the police and the law enforcement system to respond to social and health problems. Instead, public health professionals and experts should be a preferred source of guidance and interventions. I pray that the enforcement of public health laws by police never happens again in the United States.
Chicago schools are reportedly missing about $23 million in laptops, iPads and other electronic devices. The 77,505 disappearing devices were reportedly lost or stolen “without search or recovery efforts” during the 2021-22 educational year at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), an annual report from the district’s Inspector General for the 2023 fiscal year revealed. The Office of Inspector General found that the district, which lacked an effective system to track devices, plans to change how materials are lent to students, according to the report. The intended changes will hold school lenders accountable to the asset management policy.
Dr. C’s Opinion: This is a problem throughout public schools in the nation. When you are not accountable for equipment you will get these problems. And if there are no consequences associated with bad behavior then you will continue to have bad behavior.
Washington Democrats opened the 2024 legislative session with another assault on gun rights. This time they hope to reclassify ammunition as a “privilege” — one that should be subject to an onerous tax because the one thing they love more than taking away guns is taking away your money. State Representatives My-Linh Thai and Liz Berry, both Democrats, introduced House Bill 2238. Under the auspices of public safety, claiming access to ammunition is the cause of violence and not their soft-on-crime policies that go easy on criminals (including those who use guns in their crimes), the bill imposes 11% sales and use tax on ammunition statewide. This would be an additional tax on top of the sales tax and any other tax that may levied when purchasing ammunition. The city of Seattle, for example, imposes a per-round tax.
Dr. C’s Opinion: This is yet another progressive attack on the Constitutional Rights of Americans. I have long feared that the best way to limit 2nd Amendment Rights in this Country is not the elimination of guns but instead through the ability to tax and regulate. Establishing high taxes on ammunition as well as well as adding onerous regulations on ammunition and gun manufacturers will be the future tactics of many on the Left.
In the first 11 months of 2023, more than 31,000 Chinese citizens were picked up by law enforcement crossing illegally into the US from Mexico, government data shows – compared with an average of roughly 1,500 per year over the preceding decade. Their numbers are still dwarfed by those from regional neighbors like Mexico, Venezuela, and Guatemala, and they are not alone in coming from other parts of the world. But the influx of people from China making that crossing spotlights the urgency many now feel to leave their native country, even in the midst of what leader Xi Jinping has claimed is a “national rejuvenation.” For now, people from China are on track to be the fastest growing group making those crossings, according to a CNN analysis of the latest law enforcement data on border encounters.
Dr C’s Opinion: There is no doubt that in my opinion we have thousands of Chinese soldiers and spies embedded into U.S. cities now. And if you don’t believe me then just listen to FBI Director Christopher Wray who stated, “Chinese spying in the U.S. has become so widespread that the FBI is launching an average of two counterintelligence investigations a day to counter the onslaught. The lack of immigration enforcement is a clear and present danger to the sovereignty and security of the United States.
Forty-nine out of 50 U.S. states saw an incredible rise in gender dysphoria between 2018 and 2022, a 2024 report revealed. South Dakota was the only state to see a drop in the number of residents believing they were a different gender to that they were born with, a condition called “gender dysphoria,” according to a 2024 report from Atlas All-Payor Claims Dataset. Virginia, Indiana, Alaska and Utah saw the highest increase in diagnoses of gender dysphoria, ranging from around 183% to 274% growth. Many of those seeking to undergo irreversible surgeries on their genitals, receive hormone therapies or other types of so-called “gender care” are under the age of 18. Young people make up around 18% of Americans, up from 10% in 2016, the report noted.
Dr C’s Opinion: A previous study by the National Institute of Health found that 58% of transgender patients had a psychiatric diagnosis, compared to only 13% of cisgender (non-trans people). The report did not offer any solutions to mitigate this mental health crisis, just new pathways to indulge and make money off those suffering. And because of irreversible mutilation surgeries on children, in which 22 states have barred this type of medical procedure for children, claims for psychotherapy sessions related to gender dysphoria rose more than 372% between 2018 and 2022. I simply cannot believe, we as Americans are doing this to our children.
An official with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been arrested on an outstanding warrant, according to local reports. TSA Assistant Federal Security Director Maxine McManaman was arrested in Atlanta by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Dec. 28. McManaman had a warrant for her arrest posted by the St. Lucie County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office, which claimed she and an alleged accomplice named Delroy Chambers Sr. exploited a relative suffering from dementia by falsifying documents in their name, according to Port St. Lucie Police. Chambers was previously arrested on Dec. 20 in Port St. Lucie, charged with two counts of exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult, simple neglect and two counts of forgery. He eventually bonded out of jail. McManaman is facing a third-degree felony charge of forgery. McManaman has been placed on leave pending a law enforcement investigation. She is currently being held at Clayton County Jail in Jonesboro, Georgia.
Blue states and the District of Columbia dominated the top spots for homeless residents per capita, according to a December report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). New York and Vermont came in second and third with an estimated 103,200, or 52.4 for every 10,000, and roughly 3,295, or 50.9 per 10,000, respectively, according to rates calculated by Axios from the report. Washington, D.C., had a higher rate of homelessness than all 50 states at 73.3 per 10,000 residents, or an estimated 4,922 people. Oregon was next with an estimated rate of homelessness at nearly 50 per 10,000, or just over 20,000 people, and California came in fifth at 46.5 per 10,000, or roughly 181,399 people, according to Axios. In September, homeless camps in San Francisco reached a record high since the pandemic with over 500 sites, and New York has been hosting more illegal immigrants than homeless with over 70,000 in emergency or homeless shelters.
Dr C’s Opinion: This is not a homelessness problem but instead a mental health and decriminalization problem. While there certainly are people who are homeless the vast majority are suffering from untreated mental health conditions and drug dependencies. There are also those that have chosen to be homeless. Many criminals have chosen this path so they can rob, steal, and rape at their pleasure. Focus should be on mental health and drug treatment and arrest and incarceration of those unwilling to seek treatment so it can be forced upon them as a result of court action.
An accused burglar’s offbeat escape plan involving an unwitting Uber driver went awry, Colorado police reported. A 911 caller reported seeing an intruder Thursday, Dec. 28, in a Wheat Ridge plumbing shop on security video and a hole in the shop’s fence, police said in a news release. Responding officers found an Uber driver parked outside waiting to pick up a passenger from the store, police said. Officers intercepted the accused burglar on his way to his ride-hailing getaway vehicle and arrested him, police said.
Dr C’s Opinion: Uber, really Uber? When this guy’s IQ gets to 80, he should sell!
Americans have been given a false choice between “defund the police” and “back the blue” or “soft on crime” or “tough on crime.” There is a better path that results in more effective policing that will reduce crime and strengthen relations between communities and police, while limiting unnecessary interactions between citizens and the criminal justice system that only make us less safe in the long-term.
Dr C’s Opinion: The research proves (and 85% of Americans agree) that cutting police budgets is not a reasonable real public safety solution. We should instead be providing them with the funding they need to intentionally deploy more officers in our community and ensure every officer has better training and more education. This will improve public safety for all by increasing the likelihood that officers use more effective policing practices while simultaneously reducing their likelihood of using unreasonable force. But arbitrarily increasing funding is also not an effective solution if we do not take steps to ensure police are focused on their core mission of protecting and serving the public. We are asking these public servants to do too many things outside of this role and that results in them spending a substantial amount of their time focused on things other than crime. They now only arrest someone in a historically low percentage of violent (41.7%) and property (14.6%) crimes. Victims deserve justice and our hard-working law enforcement officers should be provided the bandwidth they need to achieve a passing grade in public safety. That’s why I am proud to be a part of Americans for Prosperity as a criminal justice advisor. Now is the time for our leaders to take violent crime seriously - Americans for Prosperity.
And last but not least, from our crazy friends at the north border police in Quebec are warning their citizens that it is illegal to post videos of people stealing your property, like porch package thieves, citing they have a right to privacy.
Dr. C’s Opinion: Ok, you crazy Canuck Police, posting videos is not a right to privacy. It is a way to apprehend the criminal and spread the word about the crime.
This is Dr Currie Myers, America’s Criminologist. Hey, check out my most recent OP ED on Substack regard the NIL and the Unintended Consequences on Young Men. To view my work please visit drcurriemyers.substack.com and please share and like our page! Stay safe and have a great weekend!
America's Criminologist Podcast with Dr Currie Myers for January 12, 2024