Hey Dan,

I understand your concerns about surveillance cameras. I don't think it's a movement quite yet. But I do think it's worth trying. I think that it may deter crime, although that point is highly debated.

But you can probably agree with me that it will help us solve many of these murders. In our current "don't snitch" environment, we can't solve these murders because witnesses won't come forward. With these new cameras (that work), the police can solve many of these murders without witness cooperation.

In this city, people are literally getting away with murder. If more violent offenders are getting caught and prosecuted, I think that is a deterrent within itself. I think the murder-rate is through the roof because people know that they aren't going to get caught, and nobody is going to say anything.

Dan said: However, to my dear and friendly Nutter Butters: It is time to start hearing from you, and what you are going to do now that your guy is in. The work that we need extends far past last May, and it is time to start thinking about how to get a progressive agenda going within the very beginning of Nutter's term.

I don't think my conditioned plan to vote for Nutter (which was derailed by spending election day far from my polling place working on someone's dad's campaign--I didn't get to vote for anyone) qualifies me for 'butter' status. But I was heartened by Nutter's comments in that recent Larry Eichel article:

As he said during the primary, Nutter wants to hire more police, install more surveillance cameras, concentrate on high-crime areas, focus on repeat offenders, and, in the longer run, build a city that provides more alternatives to a life of crime.

But at this point, just about midway between the primary and the general election, the Democratic nominee says he feels a renewed public urgency about the carnage that is bordering on desperation.

In his view, the killings this summer, and the national publicity that has come with them, have had a profound impact. There's a sense, he says, that the violence, if not abated, threatens the city's progress, its image, and its economic prospects.

And that, in turn, might make the city even more ripe for mayhem.

"Six months ago, in certain parts of the city, the crime issue would come up, but people had a certain sense that it was happening somewhere else," Nutter said in an interview.

"Now, that doesn't matter. More and more citizens have finally come to the conclusion that it's happening in my city, it's tearing this place apart. We're embarrassed by it, and we're increasingly fearful. . . .

"And there's even less confidence that anything is being done that makes any kind of sense to the average person, that says to them, 'This is our game plan, this is how it's going to work, and these are going to be the results.' "

Now, it's a testament to how bad things are that someone just saying "something should be happening and it is NOT" feels both welcome and, frankly, radical.

Of course, by the next paragraph it's still good old election-era Nutter, still advocating the state of emergency plan and claiming that REAL black men that he's REALLY talked to tell him they want it. Awesome. No worries then.

But at least he is recognizing a lot of the issues, and that's a hell of a lot more than it seems like we are getting from the Street-Johnson-Abraham trifecta:

* Looking at repeat offenders and how the parole system (including coordination between police and social service agencies) can be improved
* Prison overcrowding
* Focusing on redeploying police and critically looking at how and where they should be placed, instead of just talking about numbers of new hires

And this quote, with its nuanced understanding of the problem and determination to do something about it, makes me feel that the hopefulness that led me to half-begrudgingly decide I really did want Nutter mayor--even with that awful state of emergency thing--was well-founded.

"There is no single thing; there are 15 things," Nutter said, stressing that a long-run solution must include increased job opportunities for lower-income residents. "As long as we continue to think there's one thing, we're not going to get a whole lot done. It is, again, the ultimate in multitasking."

Maybe the bar is really low right now, but I have to say I am really glad to have someone coming in to City Hall who is engaged and is actually gonna try.

I'm not necessarily an opponent of video cameras in crime ridden areas but what is likely to happen - as it does with all equipment - is that they break down over time, or worse, rowdies smash the majority of them & then we're basically back to square one. I wonder how much this program would cost (installation, monitoring & record keeping staff) & whether it provides the biggest bang for the buck (Not an insignificant question given we're about to have $80 million in Nutter tax cuts for business).

and it is time to start thinking about how to get a progressive agenda going within the very beginning of Nutter's term.

I think the jury is in on this one: Nutter campaigned on business tax cuts, reducing crime, & reforming city govt. Don't expect any new social programs from Nutter nor help for the underclass.

While there is some evidence that one of the reasons crime decreased in the late 1990s and early 2000s is because so many folks were locked up, I still would like to see a police force whose first instinct isn't to lock up petty criminals and in particular drug dealers.

It's well documented that our criminal justice system is plenty racist, especially towards African Americans, and that having a criminal record basically prevents many folks from ever being able to enter the work force.

Community policing and prosecution that steered individuals to cleanup projects instead of the court room would require some creativity on the part of the city's political leadership but might be more effective in the long run at decreasing crime.