Comment by deepsun
11 days ago
How to measure "lack of crime" if depends mostly on people responsibility than policing? You cannot put a policeman watching everyone and themselves.
E.g. I believe Oaxaca must have lower crime rates than Tampico simply because one is convenient drug port and other is not, not because better police.
> How to measure "lack of crime" if depends mostly on people responsibility than policing?
The thing is, a holistic approach to policing is key, and it's not just about putting bobbies on the street, it's far far FAR more what's needed to create a healthy society.
You need a social safety net for the unemployed, decent housing to prevent homelessness and its associated side effects (such as people taking dumps on the sidewalk), an accessible and affordable system of physical and mental health care, accessible options for education (not just of children but also for adults who need to switch careers for whatever reason), assistance programs for released convicts to find stable employment and a place to live, "third places" for the needs of all generations from young to old...
Police as an institution is absolutely needed, but in a healthy society it should be a matter of last resort, not a routine tool that kills or otherwise hurts people. When you as a government have to resort to hiring ever more (and ever more dumb, because the supply of smart people is limited) police to keep the peace, something has gone very wrong at the foundations of the stack that we call society.
Yes, that's exactly what I think: it's hard to measure police effectiveness when it's just a piece of the puzzle.
Measuring this relatively simple - sociologists take a survey, sample appropriately, and find out how many people are victims of crime, including ones not reported to police.
Ok, let's say it shows that Tampico has way higher number of crime victims. Is their police better or worse than another place with a lower number?
>You cannot put a policeman watching everyone
At least until we cover the planet in advanced technology, of which we are getting closer to every day.