“If it’s predictable, it’s preventable.”
— Gordon Graham
For the most part:
If you don’t arrest a chronic drug user/thief (who rejects treatment), he or she will continue to steal.
If you don’t provide free high-quality/follow-through drug treatment programs for those who are seeking them, addicts will continue to abuse drugs.
If you don’t respond to a 9-1-1 call regarding a known mental-health patient whose history includes acts of violence, with BOTH law enforcement officers and mental health experts, the patient will likely become violent and therefore be arrested.
If you don’t incarcerate a pedophile or serial rapist, he will find another victim.
If you don’t hold gang members responsible for crimes committed in the “furtherance of their gang,” they will continue to commit crimes for the benefit of their gang.
If you don’t give chronically homeless people a home, PLUS a caseworker to help guide them to success, they will go back to being homeless.
If you decriminalize driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, thereby eliminating all consequences, including education and treatment, more people will be killed by drivers who are under the influence.
Are there outliers to my above assertions? Of course there are, but those are the exceptions.
I believe the above statements are predictable and therefore preventable. I further believe if we follow through on my suggestions, we can prevent a portion of these predictable crimes and social injustices.
I also believe we can do more in 2022 to reduce our present trend.
» Listen to the voices of victims of crime and consider their perspective in the realm of reform. A victim of a crime is not a statistic or name on a report. We must now focus on this person,and their community, in the context of public safety.
» Prosecute drug dealers, and under the right circumstances, if the drug they knowingly furnish or sell kills someone, prosecute them for murder.
» For those who commit minor crimes, screen them for diversion and restorative justice programs but resist arbitrary diversion placement that won’t lead to rehabilitation.
» Educate all first responders and interested community members in implicit bias and public safety/justice, and hold them accountable for their actions.
Finally, I strongly believe the best response to crime is prevention, and the best way I know how to prevent crime is to invest in our future, in our children:
» Create universal prenatal care, home visits to vulnerable families, and high-quality early childhood and pre-K programs.
» Insist on engaging after-school programs for all grades with a variety of choices: arts, sports, sciences, trades, community service, etc.
» Support early and ongoing physical and mental-health screening for all children, and ensure that high-quality follow-up treatments are immediately available.
Do I think my above suggestions will prevent all predictable criminal and social justice issues in our community? Of course I don’t.
But I believe if we institute even some of these changes, to even some extent, it will help reduce crime, increase justice and therefore save lives.
— Joyce Dudley is Santa Barbara County’s district attorney. The opinions expressed are her own.