Kids and Crime

Scott Henson, political blogger and columnist for the Austin American Statesman, writes in his July 19 column, "How is it that Austin police continue to arrest hundreds of people on petty drug charges…but neighborhood groups still complain about underpolicing?" As a resident of Central East Austin, Henson experiences the problems associated with drugs and crime on a daily basis. He's writing to Austinians, and perhaps the Austin police department itself, offering up his contextual observations of the drug trade in his neighborhood. According to Henson, increasing the number of drug related arrests hasn't worked to rude crime on the Eastside, and assaults and burglaries occur despite these arrests. He recognizes that the bottom tier, and backbone, of petty criminals is made up of the children of incarcerated parents, and that it is these kids that should be receiving all the attention, not necessarily the possessors of drugs. I work in the Eastside of Austin, and I've seen a lot of what Henson talks about. The police departments policy towards drugs isn't working to reduce crime, and seem to be treating to symptoms and not the cause. Henson's points of view goes a little deeper, and his suggestion of focussing on these at-risk kids has the potential to make more of an impact on Eastside crime than the current policy does. Here's the column.