The Department Of Justice (DOJ) here in the US is not only supposed to be one of the most active and innovative agencies in the nation but they are always supposed to get their man. A noble mission that much like the best-laid plans of mice & men often comes up just a wee bit short.
In their latest stroke of genius, they have drafted up guidelines for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to stop a decades-old, tried-and-tested procedure. Following the liberal agenda to a T, they want these agencies to cease the use of crime statistics while conducting any law enforcement activities.
You read that right. In the eyes of the DOJ using the very evidence that shows an agency where the most likely location of guns, drugs, or crime is nothing more than a racist narrative. However, they aren’t just stopping at where they concentrate their efforts in positioning their resources. They want to remove the ability to use physical appearance for anything.
FBI and other agencies would suddenly find themselves unable to utilize “actual or perceived race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, sex characteristics, disability status, or gender identity,” in “any degree” of use. This would extend even to other areas of the law where the use of these identifying features would be legal.
According to the documents that were obtained by the Daily Caller, the reasoning behind this is that “high crime areas” often have “aggressive law enforcement” patrolling their communities and making the residents feel unsafe. They also believe that with how they identify subjects they end up bringing bias into their decision making.
“[O]fficers and agents should not use statistics about arrest rates in particular communities when making decisions about where and how to focus their activities. Current and historical patterns of discriminatory law enforcement have led to higher rates of arrest in certain communities, particularly African American communities,” they claimed in documents. They then go on to claim crime statistics are “inherently biased and unreliable,” and the use of them only makes discrimination problems worse.
They believe this latest policy will make for better policing and make for stronger communities for people to take pride in. Unfortunately, it will do nothing but perpetuate wasted government funds and ineffective police work.
When the last anti-discrimination guidelines were issued in 2014, protected characteristics like those previously outlined were allowed to be considered only in the most appropriate of ways. While not an outright ban, it certainly did not help any agency do its job more effectively than it did without the guidelines.
In an incredibly interesting twist, the statistics make it abundantly clear that crime is most frequently committed in concentrated areas, and mostly by repeat offenders. These criminals look for the same easy targets in the same safe areas. Following that up with largely the same or damn near methods that got them caught in the past, they perpetuate the same endless cycle of crime that the statistics back up. It’s also what makes the statistics up.
What’s most hilarious about these documents is the idea of ignoring the statistics because they claim that they are biased and unreliable. The bias lies in who is reporting the data and how. If the data isn’t having the top and bottom percentages cut off or something else unusual and extreme, then the numbers are accurate and unbiased. This is middle school mathematics. A simple example of fractions, averages, and percentages. It is unable to be biased or to make someone look worse than they are.
If the DOJ doesn’t like the numbers, then maybe they need to push the idea of bringing back real policing. Give people harsher sentences for their crimes. Make them pay adequately for what they have done, and order restitution be paid more often instead of giving them a wrap on the knuckles and sending them on their way.
