Kentucky Governor’s Crime Plan: Volunteer ‘Prayer Patrols’ Roaming The Streets

[JA]

Kentucky Governor’s Crime Plan: Volunteer ‘Prayer Patrols’ Roaming The Streets

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[JA]

They should stop by the hospitals and pray people's sickness away.  

Don't forget to pray away climate change and "the gay."

[JA]

It's rather easy to focus on the sheer stupidity of these remarks, but hidden in plain sight is the more vile motivation behind them. The Governor is intentionally abdicating any responsibility for changing institutional causes of crime, such as poverty, lack of access to a good education, lack of adequate employment opportunities, limited upward mobility, segregation, racism, and mass incarceration. He knows that crime cannot be prevented by simply praying it away, nor would he make such a recommendation if Kentucky's wealthy communities were being victimized by rampant crime. But, since this is a problem primarily for the poor and/or minorities and it would require dramatic structural changes to actually address the issue of crime, the governor chooses to forego any responsible policymaking in favor of "prayer patrols."

[JA]

Crime is a usual result of sociopathic behavior, and not of economic distress.

Crime is not solely the result of sociopathic behavior. Property crime may or may not be related to it, but it could also be the result of desperation, youthful misbehavior, and so on. Violent crime is certainly more likely to be associated with sociopathic behavior. However, from where does this sociopathy originate? In about half of cases, sociopathy stems from genetics; in the other half, it is caused by environmental conditions.

What environmental conditions might those be? Alcoholism, domestic abuse, parental abuse and neglect, being raised in a dangerous neighborhood, and exposure to other social ills. All of those environmental causes of sociopathology have a strong correlation with poverty. While we cannot eliminate the genetic component (due to the limitations of modern science), we can make considerable progress eliminating the environmental components by reducing poverty and ensuring greater protections for children. Thus, to dramatically reduce crime, we need to cut off a major part of its source: economic distress.

[JA]

We live in an age of mass incarceration, growing racial tensions, and serious questions of justice. One Givernor is actually trying to introduce needed reforms to our law enforcement system, and you people deride it as weak or incompetent simply because he is a Republican. Let's not forget that the prison-industrial complex was a Clinton project.

If a Democrat said something equally stupid they'd deserve the same reaction. Sending out 'Prayer Patrols' is not a serious response to crime; it is a deflection of responsibility to his state's citizens by pretending he is doing something while, in reality, doing absolutely nothing. Crime primarily stems from institutional problems - as do nearly all socioeconomic failures. To prevent or reduce crime, it is necessary to reform institutions and policies. You cannot pray away crime, just as you cannot pray away disease, homosexuality, or anything else.

At the same time, the standard law-and-order schtick has done absolutely nothing constructive either and, despite rhetoric to the contrary, Democrats (especially Clinton and Obama) have been just as guilty of perpetuating and exacerbating America's prison-industrial complex and mass incarceration. Punishment is neither a cure nor a deterrent to crime because crime is not a morality issue.

[JA]

We live in an age of mass incarceration, growing racial tensions, and serious questions of justice. One Givernor is actually trying to introduce needed reforms to our law enforcement system, and you people deride it as weak or incompetent simply because he is a Republican. Let's not forget that the prison-industrial complex was a Clinton project.

If a Democrat said something equally stupid they'd deserve the same reaction. Sending out 'Prayer Patrols' is not a serious response to crime; it is a deflection of responsibility to his state's citizens by pretending he is doing something while, in reality, doing absolutely nothing. Crime primarily stems from institutional problems - as do nearly all socioeconomic failures. To prevent or reduce crime, it is necessary to reform institutions and policies. You cannot pray away crime, just as you cannot pray away disease, homosexuality, or anything else.

At the same time, the standard law-and-order schtick has done absolutely nothing constructive either and, despite rhetoric to the contrary, Democrats (especially Clinton and Obama) have been just as guilty of perpetuating and exacerbating America's prison-industrial complex and mass incarceration. Punishment is neither a cure nor a deterrent to crime because crime is not a morality issue.

As a Marxist, I am fully aware of the institutional potential to cause crime. One aspect of this is, of course, the tension-riddled relationship between law enforcement and the, shall we say, urban community. This creates a distrusted image of our men and women in uniform and delegitimizes law in the eyes of many an urban youth. This is why I am overjoyed to see Governor Bevin transforming to a potentially far more effective, community-based form of policing, hopefully replacing the lock-'em-up mentality of the past.

Obviously, I do not have a problem with such an approach. A community-based form of policing would certainly be considerably preferable to traditional policing. However, my issue is primarily with the lack of any institutional or policy changes, which these patrols will be used to mask. Traditional policing will not be replaced but supplemented by individuals who will remain powerless to effect any change on behalf of the residents with whom they interact. Sure, they may be able to communicate concerns and vent to these patrols, but when nothing is done by the state to address those issues and each night they are still confronted with crime, police harassment, and arrests, the residents will feel no different than before and nothing will have changed.

[JA]

Will they be armed?

Yes. With the word of the LORD. Amen.

[JA]

Will they be armed?

Yes. With the word of the LORD. Amen.

Not enough.

That's not what Jesus said (though we should probably provision them with Holy Water just in case).

They have a vampire problem?

So it would seem