I have visited D.C. twice in my life. And no, none of those visits involved wearing buffalo horns. The first time was back in the '70s on an "educational" family trip. We hit all of the famous spots. That included the public tour of the White House, which at the time was about as impressive as touring the lobby of a Motel 6. Hopefully, they have spiffed things up over the years. I remember thinking that the joint could use a fresh coat of paint. The second time was ten years ago with my wife. We were in town for a business conference, and we visited Mount Vernon.
But I don't recall feeling as if we were in any danger. Of course, on both occasions, we confined ourselves to the "tourist" areas, and it was, after all, a different time. Today's D.C. ain't what it used to be. One look at the crime stats will tell you that.
Nationwide, the leaders of blue cities have slowly started admitting that their laissez-faire approaches to crime are not working. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is one of them. Maybe Henry Cuellar's carjacking encounter made Her Honor finally take the first step to recovery and admit that the city has a problem.
D.C. TV station WUSA notes that vehicle theft in what remains of the nation's capital is up 101% from just one year ago. To combat this problem, the mayor has decided to take a somewhat passive approach. Instead of taking a more aggressive approach to enforcing laws that decent people have no problem following, the city is opting to hand out digital tracking tags to some residents.
That way, when a vehicle is stolen, it will theoretically be easier to find. That is presuming that it has not already been parted out or crashed or that the thieves have not located the tag and tossed it in a dumpster or stuck it on a seat on a Metrorail train just for fun.
In a Wednesday press release following an announcement, Bowser commented:
Last week, we introduced legislation to address recent crime trends; this week, we are equipping residents with technology that will allow MPD to address these crimes, recover vehicles, and hold people accountable. We have had success with similar programs where we make it easier for the community and MPD to work together – from our Private Security Camera Incentive Program to the wheel lock distribution program – and we will continue to use all the tools we have and add new tools, to keep our city safe.
Acting Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith said that the goal is not just the prevention of carjackings or vehicle thefts but helping police locate and recover vehicles and gather evidence. Not everyone gets a tag. The city has identified six police service areas where vehicle thefts have been particularly problematic.
I suppose it's better than nothing. But notice that there is no mention of hiring more officers, stepping up patrols, or supporting the ones the city has. It is a tacit admission that if one lives in D.C., one can expect that at some point one's car will be stolen or that someone will at least try to steal it.
And the city is issuing the terms of its surrender to the criminal element. The city is telling the people that while it may offer some technology to help, car thefts are largely a problem with which the residents must cope. Of course, the city could always send a social worker to help the citizen deal with the theft, help the perp understand the scope of his crimes, and find out why he stole a car before brainstorming ideas about restorative justice or something.
But Bowser is forgetting history. The story of the notorious bank robber Willie Sutton is disputed by some people, but the tale goes that when Sutton was finally captured, he was asked why he robbed banks. His reported reply was, “I rob banks because that’s where the money is.” Sutton denied saying that, but in his autobiography, he said that would have been his response if asked. But he did say this:
Why did I rob banks? Because I enjoyed it. I loved it. I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it than at any other time in my life. I enjoyed everything about it so much that one or two weeks later I’d be out looking for the next job.
People steal cars because they want a free car, because it seems like a good idea at the time, or because it makes for a quick adrenaline rush. Whatever the reason, people steal cars because they are bad people, and good people pay taxes to avoid being victims of crime. Ideally, a good mayor and police chief would take responsibility for making sure citizens don't have to worry about getting carjacked in the first place. Of course, this is D.C., where nothing is ideal.
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