Here’s some interesting criminal justice news and events that have occurred in the United States this past week. My Podcast is brought to you by Blue Canopy Safety Training for all your online and on-site OSHA safety training and compliance needs! Call Blue Canopy today at (888) 495-2723 for more information or to set up an appointment to discuss OSHA safety and training!
A man accused of stabbing two teenagers at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal on Christmas Day was freed by a judge just weeks prior after a string of violence, and he now allegedly has stabbed a fellow prisoner at Rikers Island. The alleged assailant, Steven Hutcherson, 36, of the Bronx, allegedly attacked two teenage girls after arguing with restaurant staff over sitting in the establishment’s area. According to reports, he remarked that the two teen girls, 14 and 16, were allowed to sit there, ultimately pulling out a knife and stabbing them. These attacks are far from the man’s first infractions. According to the Post, he has been arrested “17 times over the last two decades — and the subject of more than a half dozen domestic violence complaints by a Manhattan woman he has allegedly stalked for over a year, according to sources.” He’s also had a string of encounters with cops for mental health disturbances, most recently on Dec. 5, when he was found acting unruly outside a Bronx apartment building. He had his share of run-ins with law enforcement in 2023, too — once for resisting arrest after walking into a Bronx precinct stationhouse “acting belligerent and refused to leave, prompting cops to arrest him and find a dagger and switchblade on him,” per the Post. He later received a 15-day sentence after smashing a display case at the Bergdorf Goodman department store.
Dr C’s Opinion: This is exactly what happens when the criminal justice system is in chaos. Based on the suspects criminal history this person should not be a candidate for bail. Moreover, the person should have been incarcerated on the other charges which would have meant that these girls would have never been harmed. Incredible!
A fifth-generation Arizona rancher said an influx of illegal migrants crossing his land in recent years has increased his fear that terrorists are successfully sneaking into America. "It's really a serious issue," Jim Chilton, owner of the Chilton Ranch, told Fox News. "We have no security on our ranch nor in most places along the border anymore. It's not good. It's not better in any sense. It's still outrageous." The ongoing crisis at the southern border is breaking records as illegal migrant entries skyrocket, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. The first week of December saw a record-setting 18,900 migrant apprehensions in Arizona's Tucson Sector alone, the section's Chief Border Patrol Agent John Modlin said. By comparison, that's about 2,000 more encounters than all of December 2021 for that sector, according to CBP data. Daily encounters also reached a new record-high across the southern border earlier this month, with more than 12,000 migrants flooding in on Dec. 4. "It's a national security issue," Chilton said. "I'm very concerned that terrorists are coming across the border."
Dr C’s Opinion: You are spot on Mr. Chilton; the Federal government has abdicated their responsibility to enforce America’s borders. In the 9-11 attacks, it took less than 20 people who came here legally and overstayed their visas to attack our nation. Bu now, we have hundreds of thousands of people crossing over the border and we have no idea who any of these people are, their backgrounds, and what they are doing every day in the United States.
On Wednesday, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, working with police, finally cleared away the last remnants of the deadly 2020 Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). According to city officials, the “makeshift” garden was being removed “due to public health and public safety issues and the need for maintenance, including reseeding the area and turf restoration.” According to a statement from the Department of Parks and Recreation, “This is the 76th time the Unified Care Team has resolved encampments at Cal Anderson in 2023, which is one of the most frequently addressed areas in the city for repopulated encampments.” The department added that in recent months, “the temporary garden has created unsafe conditions for all park users, including the vandalism of Cal Anderson public bathrooms, public drug use, unauthorized camping, and a significant rodent problem, along with other issues.”
Dr C’s Opinion: Seattle political leaders are fully responsible for this atrocity. They abdicated their responsibilities to protect their community by turning over public land to criminals, drug addicts and the mentally ill. CHAZ or CHOP should have never occurred to begin with and should have been put down immediately when it was first taken over by woke groups. Liberal political leaders have responded to 5% of the population that wanted to systematically change the culture of the U.S. instead of representing the 95% of us that want laws enforced by a well-trained and well-disciplined police department.
On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson responded to a question on an uptick in most violent crime categories in the city in 2023 by stating that homicides and shootings have fallen and money “for restoration and reparations” will help address the “cycle of violence” in the city. Co-host Poppy Harlow asked, “I do want to ask you about crime in Chicago, just poring through the latest data from the Chicago Police Department, the murder rate is down from 2022, but all other forms of violent crime, Mr. Mayor, are up from a year ago, up 17% overall. Are Chicagoans going to be safer in 2024?”
Dr C’s Opinion: Criminal justice is not rocket science Mr. Mayor. However, it can be a fragile system if you have bad policies. Focus on violent offenders, focus on high recidivism based on data, end cashless bail for those with previous felony convictions, and start using implementing evidence-based policing. Finally, stop funding your department by the supplementation of fines, fees, and forfeitures like the use of your automated speed cameras throughout the city!
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Tuesday that there will be a heightened police presence for New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square in preparation for potential protests in relation to the Israel-Hamas war. This after the city has seen more than 500 pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the war broke out, including the disruption of multiple Christmas events, the iconic Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and the notable Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting service. "It's a real Herculean task to manage that number of people without being heavy-handed but being protective," Adams said. "The police department has to be extremely more hesitant in actions that they would've carried out in the past to keep the peace."
Dr C’s Opinion: That fact that Mayor Adams was once a police officer that rose through the ranks to a high level demonstrates that he played the system to get promoted. The mayor has continued the pathetic criminal justice policies of New York’s previous Mayor and even has made in worse. NYPD will be down to just 29,000 officers within a year or so. The lowest number of police officers in many decades. Herculean tasks, Mr. Mayor, need to be supported by Herculean, well-funded, well trained police officers. I have an idea. Eliminate your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program and fund more officers with the savings from the elimination of DEI.
Portland area is encouraging residents to watch their hygiene after a boost in shigella cases observed in Old Town Portland. Shigella is a bacterium that spreads via fecal matter, and creates symptoms that include fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. It can last anywhere from three to 10 days. “Shigella spreads when one person’s infected poop gets into another person’s mouth through food or water, from objects or surfaces with shigella bacteria on them, or during sex,” Multnomah County said. “Shigella spreads very easily. Even a small amount is enough to make someone sick.” These three Portland area counties have reported 45 cases of the bacteria in December, with nine different strains observed in the Portland metro area since October. The Portland Police Bureau’s Central Bike Squad also joined in on the calls for awareness, making a post about hygiene on Instagram on Dec. 22, where they warned the public to wash their hands often and to remove your shows before you walk into your homes or businesses.
Dr C’s Opinion: There was a time and place in America that police arrested people for the violations of vagrancy and violations of public health laws. There are laws on the books that deal with these social issues, and they need to be enforced or our country will become a third world sewer.
A record number of Chinese nationals crossed the southern border into the United States last month, breaking the previous record that was set just a month prior. A full 4,797 Chinese nationals were encountered on America’s southwestern border with Mexico in November 2023, according to figures from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). It’s the third consecutive month that a record was set for monthly encounters with Chinese at the border, with 4,261 encountered in October and 4,042 encountered in September. The monthly figures mark a shocking increase from fiscal years 2021 and 2022, when there were just 450 and 2,176 southwest border encounters with Chinese nationals, respectively. The number surged to 24,314 in FY 2023 and has already climbed past 9,000 in just the first two months of FY 2024.
Dr C’s Opinion: I warned earlier this year that some of the Chinese nationals entering the United States had connections to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army, citing research collected and information from the U.S. Border Patrol. There is no double that Chinese soldiers and undercover police officers are embedded into American communities.
FISA Section 702 Reauthorization. When the House returns, it must also deal with reauthorizing and reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Johnson is going to have to decide between two bills, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s bill and the House Judiciary Committee’s bill. The House will have until April 19, 2024, to reauthorize and reform FISA 702. Section 702 of the FISA law relates to what the Office of the Director of National Intelligence describes as “a key provision" of FISA "that permits the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the United States.”
Dr C’s Opinion: Over the years, it has been abused. According to a declassified FISA court opinion this year, the FBI committed FISA violations 278,000 times in recent years, including on people believed to be connected to violent George Floyd protests and the Capitol riot. This has led to bipartisan calls for reforms, but there are major differences on how far to go in reforming it. Now, this will be a major task Johnson will have to deal with in the new year. American citizens need to be assured that these former abuses by the FBI will not be tolerated and cannot be tolerated in a free society.
And one final thought. An important note on research in the field of criminology should be publicly noted. Too many criminologists and sociologists in the world of academia as well as many Think Tanks in America rely on data from the federal government to supply information on crime statistics.
Dr C’s Opinion: Per the National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice, only42 percent of violent crimes are reported to law enforcement. Thirty-two percent of property crimes are reported. The USDOJ uses a national survey (National Crime Victimization Survey) as a gauge of all crimes. If is my fervent belief that crime statistics are under-reported considerably. In fact, I believe that crime is actually much higher that what is place out to the public regarding crime statistics. Additionally, many departments across America are no longer investigating or doing reports on certain crime categories, such a theft, shoplifting, and burglary. There are also major law enforcement agencies not reporting their crime data to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System for its latest report.
This is Dr Currie Myers, America’s Criminologist wishing you and yours a safe weekend. To view my work please visit drcurriemyers.substack.com.
Welcome to the America’s Criminologist Podcast for December 29, 2023.