St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones has come up with a novel approach to fighting crime in her city. No, it does not involve funding the police and hiring more officers. To this writer's knowledge, it does not involve replacing police officers with social workers. Well, it might include that, but this innovation in creating a safer city is to hold local businesses accountable for crimes that occur in and around their properties.
No, your eyes did not deceive you. The focus is on holding businesses accountable. Not the criminals or even the people who create policies that embolden lawbreakers.
Last month, Jones was at the Black Mayors' Coalition on Crime, which was held in Memphis, Tennessee. Jones learned of a program in Atlanta that was directed at nightclub owners and thought that the idea of holding business owners' feet to the fire might be a viable solution for St. Louis. In an interview with WMC-TV, she commented:
We have a lot of violence around convenience stores and gas stations. So how can we hold those business owners accountable and also bring down crime? Some of the things are already doing, we’re finding other mayors are doing as well. (sic)
One might make a case for nightclubs, within reason. Nightclubs serve alcohol, which lowers inhibitions, which can lead to all sorts of behaviors that can land someone on the local news. And it should come as no surprise to anyone that drug use and nightclubs often go hand in hand. I used to work in a comedy club, and there were some nights that I seriously thought about calling a DEA agent before I went to clean the bathrooms.
On the other hand, what are owner of convenience stores or gas stations supposed to do about the customers, loiterers, or the average criminal breaking laws in and around their businesses? Should they own a firearm? How is that going to go over in a blue city? Should they step outside and give the miscreants a stern talking-to? Maybe they should call the police? However, depending on the locale, the police might arrive too late, if at all. Why should small business owners be held responsible for situations they had nothing to do with creating?
The Blaze noted:
By any measure, St. Louis is one of the worst cities for crime in America. The city received an "F" rating from CrimeGrade.org. For years, St. Louis has had one of the highest murder rates and violent crime rates in the country. Jones has been mayor of St. Louis since 2021.
The Blaze also reported that another topic discussed at the Memphis meeting was the idea that crime was not actually increasing but that people were under the misapprehension that such was the case. Paul Young, the mayor of Memphis, opined, "We are solidified and resolved in the fact that we are stronger together. The national crime data may show some decreases in overall crime stats, but what we discussed today is that if people don’t feel safe, then the statistics don’t matter."
There were a number of negative reactions on X, but I think the most salient response was the one below:
And people wonder why St. Louis (where I live) is a dying city and Fortune 500 companies have been leaving for years. Mind numbing stupidity.
— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) April 7, 2024
Business owners struggled through the lockdowns, and not all of them made it to the other side. They are already coping with an economy that is circling the drain, high prices, and clients with less cash to spend. And, on top of those issues, from sea to shining sea, businesses are increasingly dealing with shoplifting, other forms of theft, violence, and vandalism committed by people who know that they can act with impunity. There is nothing quite like telling these people that they are part of the problem to sink what is left of your city.
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