So, why do I do this podcast and write so much about the American criminal justice system? It’s because we are in chaos. We are allowing 5% of the population dictate to the rest of us what policies should be enacted in our Country. And unfortunately, many of the 95% are not willing to be public about their concerns. As a criminologists and retired law enforcement office, I can tell you there are many opportunities for improvement, and I write and speak about these opportunities. But often modern-day public policy is driven mainly by feelings and not facts. There are opportunities for improvement in the criminal justice public policy arena, but I will continue to warn America about systematic changes that are unwarranted and dangerous to our Democratic Republic. And that’s why I am America’s Criminologist, I care about this country, the Constitution of the United States and the freedoms that have been endowed by our Creator.
I am Proud to have been selected to be one of only 20 professionals nationally to be on the Expanding First Response Commission, a new commission of the Council of State Governments and their Justice Center Program. For more information on the CSG JC work please visit our website at csgjusticecenter.org.
California cities have battled a homeless crisis for years, while still throwing billions of dollars at the spiraling tragedy to help those who are in dire need of housing. But one city has defied the odds, reporting the lowest homeless population in the state. Republican Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey said there are no vagrants in his city at all, and he joined "Fox & Friends First" to describe how he has reinforced a no-encampment policy while still upholding the rule of law. "The policies that are in place at the regional and statewide level that are tolerating this type of behavior that is personally destructive and also destructive to the surrounding communities are really enabling this situation to increase throughout our entire state, and throughout our entire region," Bailey told Ashley Strohmier. "Changing these policies will actually have a major impact," he continued. Bailey explained that the city works with the police department and a homeless service provider to give the homeless only one option — to get the help they need. Coronado funds "reasonable" services to help those struggling get "back on their feet," but noted the city also has a no-tolerance policy for violating municipal codes. "We also make it very clear that we don't tolerate encampments along our sidewalks, and we don't tolerate other code violations such as being drunk in public or urinating in public or defecating in public," Bailey said. "We just simply don't tolerate these basic code violations. What ends up happening is an individual either chooses to get help or they end up leaving." "The fact of the matter is there, although there are a myriad of reasons that people end up homeless, they eventually only fall into two camps — those that want help and those that do not want help," Bailey said. "And if those that are refusing to get help… shouldn't be granted additional the ability to break laws such as tent encampments on the sidewalk or urinating or defecating in public." And that’s the criminal justice memo for the week.
House Democrats were infuriated and taken aback by President Biden’s announcement on Thursday that he will sign a resolution to nix the District of Columbia’s crime bill. The crime bill has come under heavy criticism from Republicans and centrist Democrats. But last month, 173 House Democrats voted along with what they thought was the White House’s stance that Biden would veto the resolution in an attempt to stand up for the District’s “home rule.” The crime bill passed the D.C. City Council unanimously in January. After Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) vetoed it, the city council overrode it 12-1. Among other things, the bill would eliminate most mandatory sentences and lower penalties for a number of violent offenses, including carjackings and robberies. It would also expand the requirement for jury trials in most misdemeanor cases. “Frankly, it’s a clear signal to those criticizing POTUS on being soft on crime amid the increased focus on the issue going into 2024 — and on the heels of Lightfoot’s ouster,” the aide said, referring to the Chicago mayor’s re-election defeat this week.
A Seattle man charged with murder related to a mass shooting in 2020 was released to home detention at his grandmother's house ahead of his trial. William Tolliver, 27, was charged with first-degree murder and six counts of first-degree assault, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm, in relation to the January 2020 shooting. The shooting unfolded outside a McDonald’s and left one woman dead and six others injured, including a child and a woman with intellectual and physical disabilities. A King County Superior Court judge granted Tolliver a pretrial release last Thursday, with Tolliver officially released on Wednesday. His trial begins March 13, and he will be required to wear an ankle monitor while living at his grandmother’s home. Tolliver had previously been arrested 44 times, convicted of one felony, 18 gross misdemeanors and one misdemeanor, KING 5 reported in 2020. Following the shooting, Tolliver and Tolbert fled to Las Vegas where they were arrested just days later. "If you are charged with murder in the first degree, and six counts of assault in the first degree, and have shot victims at random, you absolutely should be held reasonably in jail, and that’s what we argued for," McNerthney added in arguing against Tolliver’s release.
The mayor of College Park, Maryland, Patrick Wojahn, was arrested Thursday on 56 child pornography possession and distribution charges. The 47-year gay Democrat faces 40 counts of possession of exploitative child material and 16 counts of distribution of exploitative child material, a press release from the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) said. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children first alerted the department that a social media account operating within the county was distributing “suspected child pornography” on February 17, according to the PGPD.
Wojahn’s case isn’t an unusual one. At least 12 additional then-current and former mayors have been accused of child sex crimes since 2021, ranging from child pornography to sexual assault. A previous analysis by Fox News Digital found that at least nine religious leaders were arrested in the U.S. in January for alleged sex crimes against children, ranging from grooming to child porn to rape. An earlier Fox News Digital analysis found that at least 349 public school educators were arrested on child sex-related crimes spanning nearly every state in the country last year, averaging to almost an arrest every day on crimes ranging from grooming to child porn to raping students. At least 262 of the arrests, or 75%, involved alleged crimes against students, the report found.
The City of Seattle agreed to settle a lawsuit with business owners and residents over the city's 2020 handling of the so-called autonomous zone protests originally dubbed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP). Businesses and residents of Seattle’s Capitol Hill "will now be compensated for the City’s mishandling of CHOP that resulted in a significant increase in crime and even loss of life," attorney Angelo Calfo said in a statement. More than a dozen business owners and residents in the Capitol Hill neighborhood filed a lawsuit against the city over the city’s policies that "effectively authorized the actions of the CHOP participants," according to the suit. The city announced the settlement totals $3.65 million, which includes $600,000 in penalties for the deletion of thousands of texts by city leaders, including former Mayor Jenny Durkan, The Seattle Times reported.
A recent Pew Research study suggests a tectonic shift in the dating and sex life of men. The study found that among men under 30 years old, over 60 percent are single, almost double that of women in the same age bracket. Not only are more young men single but their opportunities for developing a relational and sexual repertoire have all but vanished, as levels of sexual intimacy across genders appear to have hit a 30-year low. In a recent interview with The Hill, psychologist and masculinity researcher Fred Rabinowitz, of the University of Redlands, pointed to pandemic-era adaptations that have lost their utility. He suggested that young men “are watching a lot of social media, they’re watching a lot of porn, and I think they’re getting a lot of their needs met without having to go out.”
The NYPD has dropped their timed 1.5-mile run requirement for police officer candidates, ending a dispute between Chief of Training Juanita Holmes and Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. The change received push back from the department and was settled by Mayor Eric Adams, the New York Post reported. Dropping the timed run requirement is part of an effort to gain more female applicants. Apparently, the city of New York believes that females are incapable of running 1.5 miles!
Senior FBI agents reportedly voiced opposition to raiding Mar-a-Lago last year, but Department of Justice prosecutors made them go ahead anyway. Months before the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to recover classified documents, there were intense internal deliberations between the FBI and DOJ prosecutors, the Washington Post reported. On one hand, FBI agents urged cooperation with the former president, knowing the political and public ramifications of aggressive tactics, like a surprise raid. But aggressive is reportedly what prosecutors wanted.
I am pleased to announce that I am a signatory for Public Safety Solutions for America. Collectively, we have developed four core principles 1) Properly fund the police 2) Focus time and resources on preventing and solving serious crime 3) Focus on evidence-based policies that reduce violent crime, and 4) Enact smart on crime policies like specialty courts and work and educational opportunities for former offenders. You can view more information on endviolentcrime.com.
Remember every human person is good, but every human person is also broken. This brokenness and inclination towards sin is called concupiscence. However, as St. Paul reminds us “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20) The world has been established and set free by God’s love.
This is Dr. Currie Myers, America’s Criminologist. Please check out my work on Substack at drcurriemyers.substack.com – Stay safe and have a great weekend!
Crime, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Podcast for Friday, March 3, 2023