CRIME TIME IN THE CITY
Another Round of “Disorder”
Summer is blossoming all over, bringing flowers, birds and outdoor fun. But in the People’s Republic of California, “smash and grab” robberies are back in force. In Walnut Creek, where crime used to be minimal, groups of thieves ransacked Macy’s this past weekend. Nearby, another group hit Sun Valley Shopping Mall and the same night, others burglarized Nieman Marcus in San Francisco.
Remember last summer? Apparently, the sunny days are bringing out the worst in some people, although the papers carefully refrain from giving out any demographic information. We don’t know the source of the threat, but they arrive in groups and overwhelm whatever limited security the store has hired.
I’ve heard from store clerks – they are told to stand down and just let it happen. My local Safeway has had people walk out with carts full of groceries, bypassing the checkout lane. I get why management is doing this. People were badly hurt at Nordstrom’s and other places when they tried to stop these criminals. Since we can’t expect cops to be everywhere to arrest these crooks, shouldn’t we have options?
A “Modest” Proposal
I would never advise anyone to confront the garbage that is ravaging our stores, driving up prices and harming our community. But if you are in danger of grave, bodily harm (which some clerks have been), you are legally permitted to use deadly force to save yourself. However, in California, it will probably cost you considerable expense to convince local DAs that you were justified under self-defense laws. In addition, families of the perp will most likely sue you as well, which puts you at risk of losing everything you have.
Not all states are so punitive, having laws that protect your right to defend your property. Know the law before you act. States that have laws favoring the victims of these crimes simply have lower rates of smash-and-grabs.
A Big Problem Here
This is probably not just a California problem, but we have a serious issue with the district attorneys in major cities. One, Chesa Boudin, was finally recalled. He refused to prosecute crimes, feeling more sympathy for the garbage perpetrating them than for the victims. I laughed when I read that it was the conservative parts of San Francisco that led this effort and gave him a 60% ousting. Conservative parts of SF? That city is so blue that you can barely tell the land from the Bay.
In Los Angeles, efforts to oust their DA are underway, but they have to wait till the November election. Normally, people don’t think a lot about how to vote for their DA; it doesn’t seem to impact their lives. But a Soros-led effort to get lax DA’s in has been successful in many places. He isn’t stopping, planning to up his investment to ensure that big cities become crime havens. With no bail, lax sentencing and crimes pled down to a misdemeanor, it is only going to get worse.
Cops are demoralized. They round these creeps up only to see them back on the street in hours. And the perps know it. We have a hard enough time recruiting new policemen; now we’ve made their efforts pointless. The Defund Police and BLM movements have a large role in this. Both have made the job less desirable and more difficult. There is also much less left in Blue state budgets to fund effective policing.
Many cities have seen oft-looted stores shut down, unable to survive the costs of this surge. In San Francisco, the almost omnipresence of 24-hour drug stores like CVS and Walgreens now has been transformed, in some areas, to where you need to drive quite far to find one and then, discover far more limited hours. People don’t feel safe. And that’s not okay.
Solution
Vote the bums (DAs) out. Read ballots carefully and look at their track record. Don’t go with the “soft on crime” mob. They can afford to hire private security. Stand strong with the Blue (cops, not Democrats) and support them. Set up neighborhood watch in your area and when out shopping, keep your phone close. You can help the police with a photograph of the crime. Don’t take a risk to capture it, but if you can, catch the perps and/or their getaway vehicles. Support your local stores.
We have to take back our cities but it’s a multi-pronged problem. Understand that too many people voted for these soft-on-crime laws; we need to return to requiring people to pay for their actions.
