Happy New Years my friends! Welcome to the America’s Criminologist Podcast for January 10, 2024. This is Dr Currie Myers with some interesting criminal justice news and events that have occurred in the United States recently.
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Here are my pressing issues that I have offered an opinion on as an applied criminologist, ethicist and career law enforcement officer at the local, state, and federal level:
The recent fires in Los Angeles have highlighted several systemic issues related to mismanagement of resources, labor, and emergency medical services (EMS), contributing to both the severity of the fires and their impact on the community. Here are the causes and effects associated with these issues:
Causes:
Inadequate Forest Management:
Policy and Funding: There has been criticism regarding the allocation of funds for fire prevention and forest management. Despite promises of significant investments, such as Governor Newsom's $1 billion pledge in 2019, the actual implementation and effectiveness of these measures have been questioned. Historical policies have focused on fire suppression rather than allowing controlled burns, leading to an accumulation of flammable material.
Budget Cuts to Fire Departments:
Prioritization of Funds: The Los Angeles Fire Department experienced budget cuts, with some reports indicating a reduction in overtime pay, which can affect availability during large-scale emergencies like wildfires. This has been linked to the city's priorities, such as spending on other municipal projects or social programs at the expense of fire services.
Labor and Resource Shortages:
Understaffing and Infrastructure: Fire response times in LA are reported to be significantly above national standards due to understaffing and insufficient infrastructure. The same number of fire stations serving the city as 60 years ago, despite population growth, suggests a failure to scale emergency services according to need.
Fire Services Limitations:
Capacity and Response: During the wildfires, EMS services were strained, with reports of fire hydrants running dry due to high demand, indicating inadequate water supply planning or infrastructure maintenance for firefighting needs. Additionally, the National Guard was not called out soon enough in order to fill the gaps with community needs.
Communications with the Public:
The public was told to evacuate but routes of escape were minimal and were not planned and controlled by law enforcement for multiple one way out driving.
Effects:
Increased Fire Severity and Spread:
The lack of adequate forest management, including the removal of dead trees and underbrush, has led to fires that are larger, more intense, and more difficult to control. This has direct consequences on the ability of firefighters to manage the spread of fires effectively.
Human and Economic Toll:
The fires have resulted in significant loss of life, property, and displacement of residents. The economic impact includes not only immediate costs for firefighting and emergency response but also long-term effects like increased insurance rates, decreased property values, and the cost of rebuilding.
Public Health and Safety:
With EMS services overwhelmed, the response to medical emergencies during the fires could be delayed, affecting the health outcomes for residents, particularly those with respiratory issues exacerbated by smoke. The use of under-resourced and underpaid labor also poses ethical and safety concerns for those on the frontline.
Community Resilience and Trust:
The mismanagement has eroded public trust in local government's capacity to handle emergencies, leading to a demand for accountability and better planning. The visible consequences of these fires have sparked discussions on policy changes, urban development, and emergency preparedness.
A crime wave of fire hydrant thefts in Los Angeles has been hindering fire fighters’ efforts to save lives and property, even before this week’s deadly fires broke out in the area. Hundreds of L.A. fire hydrants have been stolen from the ground over the past two years, with the surge in thefts appearing to peak last June. “Catalytic converters, bronze statues, copper wire: Nothing is safe from theft in Los Angeles. And as of the last couple years, you can now add fire hydrants to the list. Between January 2023 and May 2024, more than 300 fire hydrants were stolen from L.A. County streets, according to data from the Golden State Water Company, which manages the fire hydrants. That's led to a $1.2 million loss for the company. In summary, the fires in Los Angeles have exposed deep-seated issues in resource allocation, labor practices, and emergency service readiness, leading to devastating effects on both the environment and the community. Addressing these causes will require a multifaceted approach involving policy reform, increased funding for critical services, and better urban planning with a focus on disaster resilience. Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass have been an unmitigated failure, not only in the response to the fires but also in fire prevention and planning and the public should recall both elected officials as soon as possible. I will be doing an in-depth analysis on this colossal failure of government and government elected officials in the very near future. So, stay tuned for more!
As fires rage in California, the largest firefighter union in North America threw its support behind South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after notably remaining politically neutral in the 2024 election cycle. "We support President Trump’s nomination of Governor Kristi Noem for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As a Governor, nominee Noem understands emergency management and the importance of government response to emergencies both natural and man-made," International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) General President Edward Kelly wrote in a letter to Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., the respective chair and ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security. "There is no greater government service than public safety. The members of IAFF are proud to serve our communities, and we look forward to working with Governor Noem and the Department of Homeland Security in the years ahead," the union chief said. The IAFF represents 353,000 members who protect more than 85% of the communities living in both the U.S. and Canada. "She has earned broad support from law enforcement unions, and we join many other organizations in calling for her speedy confirmation."
As California literally burns to the ground, it seems Joe Biden’s priorities are elsewhere after he announced an additional $500 million in military assistance for Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the funding, adding that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizes the “importance” of continued support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Republicans slammed the sentencing of President-elect Donald Trump on Friday, calling it a "disgrace." Trump was sentenced Friday morning in New York City to unconditional discharge. He was convicted last year of falsifying business records after a years-long investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The unconditional discharge, as Merchan sentenced Trump to, does not impose a punishment on the convicted individual. It does maintain that the conviction stands. However, it means that any relevant penalties will not be imposed. While Trump will not face these penalties due to the sentence, he could still run into obstacles due to his felon status as long as the conviction is upheld.
Chinese state-sponsored hackers broke into the US Treasury Department's systems earlier this month and were able to access employee workstations and some unclassified documents is a major incident according to Treasury officials. With the large number of Federal workers still allowed to work from home, it is no wonder why the Department of Treasury has had this intrusion on its network. My suggestion is to get Federal workers back to work in offices that have internal security applications and SCIFs asap, and or start to weed out non-essential Federal employees, with open cyber backdoors, and reduce the workforce to reduce the threat.
America’s Credit Card Crisis: A Gateway to Crime and Desperation. As America’s household credit card debt surpasses $10,000 on average, with $1.17 trillion in annual interest payments and $46 billion in delinquent debt, the financial picture for millions of Americans grows darker. Shockingly, 28% of Americans have not even paid off their credit card debt from 2023. While these numbers are concerning in their own right, their ripple effects on crime, societal ethics, and individual behavior reveal a crisis far deeper than what balance sheets can show. The staggering debt crisis creates vulnerabilities that criminals exploit while also pushing individuals to engage in illegal or dangerous activities to alleviate financial pressures. From cybercrime to fraud to desperate acts by debt-stricken individuals, the intersections between rising credit card debt and crime are clear, urgent, and deserving of national attention. Read my full Op Ed here.
Human cognition operates through patterns of feedback loops that influence behavior, perception, and decision-making. These loops are shaped by both external stimuli and internal frameworks, which include cognitive biases. Cognitive biases, defined as systematic errors in thinking that affect decisions and judgments, often interact with feedback loops to either reinforce or correct patterns of thought and behavior. This perspective explores the intricate relationship between feedback loops and cognitive biases and provides a law enforcement case study to illustrate their practical implications. Feedback loops are systems in which the output of an action influences future actions. In a positive feedback loop, the outcomes amplify the initial action, creating a reinforcing cycle. In a negative feedback loop, the outcomes counteract the initial action, fostering stability or correction. Read my full Op Ed here.
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Okay here is my five-minute blitz on CJ News and Information for this week:
In a move that signals a shift in priorities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced the termination of two programs aimed at providing social services to illegal immigrants, citing unsustainable costs and misalignment with the agency's core mission. One of the discontinued programs, the Wraparound Stabilization Service (WSS), was designed to offer psychosocial and behavioral health support for migrants. However, ICE noted that the program showed minimal effectiveness, with only a 2% improvement in compliance rates compared to those not receiving services. Describing the program as "immensely cost with little improvement," ICE ended referrals in July.
A sobering statistic recently revealed that only 36 percent of American adults could pass the U.S. citizenship test, a foundational exam designed to measure basic knowledge of American history, government, and civic principles. This alarming finding—reported by NBC News—underscores a growing crisis in civic education, where even the simplest questions about our nation’s past and governance can’t be answered by a majority of our country. Equally disconcerting are the results among younger generations. A 2023 report from The Daily Signal highlighted that a mere three percent of high school students can pass the citizenship exam. These students, soon to become voting-age adults, lack a basic understanding of our Constitution, key historical events, and fundamental principles of democracy required to be informed citizens. This crisis raises a critical question: How can we expect to preserve the American experiment if future generations remain uneducated about its foundations? The answer lies in addressing the root causes of this knowledge deficit and promoting accessible tools—such as PragerU’s educational civics videos and citizenship quiz—to bridge the gap.
The owner of fast-food franchise In-N-Out said the company was forced to close its Oakland restaurant due to a relentless crime wave. Lynsi Snyder said the “absolutely dangerous” conditions, which saw 300 days of violence in a single year, forced the first permanent closure of an In-N-Out restaurant in the company’s 76-year history. The recessions 1949, 1953, 1958, 1960-61, 1969-70, 1973-75, 1980, 1981-82, early 1990s recession, early 2000s recession, 2008-09 global financial crisis, and COVID lockdowns didn’t kill off a single one of their stores – but liberal policies on crime did.
My friend, Dr John Lott has an Op Ed out this week: In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, American Immigration Council (AIC) Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick remarked last week that mass deportations would cost “at a minimum” $316 billion. The AIC estimates that there is an annual cost of $88 billion to deport one million illegal aliens each year. That breaks down to $7 billion for arrests, $66 billion for detentions, $12.6 billion to go through the legal process, and $2.1 billion to transport deportees out of the country. It works out to $88,000 per deportee, but the council claims this is a “highly conservative estimate.” They conclude there is “a total cost of $967.9 billion over the course of more than a decade.” By contrast, if these illegal aliens commit a crime resembling the most serious crime that they have previously been convicted or charged with, the victimization costs amount to at least $166.5 billion. The National Institute of Justice estimated the costs to victims by including medical bills, lost wages, social/victim services, property loss/damage, police/fire service costs, and pain and suffering. The costs of crime are roughly at least 21 times higher than deportation costs.
25-year-old Democrat Mayor of Bogalusa LA, Tyrin Truong, was arrested on Tuesday following an extensive drug trafficking investigation which uncovered links to illegal firearms and prostitution. In April last year, a “comprehensive investigation” was launched by the Louisiana State Police Narcotics/Violent Crime Task Force, which targeted a wide-ranging and sophisticated drug trafficking operation that used social media for payment processing and distribution. The organization distributed drugs such as opioids, high-grade marijuana, THC products and MDMA, according to law enforcement officials.
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This is Dr Currie Myers, America’s Criminologist. To view my work please visit drcurriemyers.substack.com and please share and like our page! And please remember my friends at Howard Wagyu for some of the best beef in America. Howard Wagyu, Kansas homegrown Wagyu Beef so tender you can cut your steak with a fork! Stay safe and have a great weekend! Happy New Year my friends!
Stay safe!
Dr C
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