The Boston Marathon bombings have reminded Americans that we can never let down our guard against terrorism. But many people have rightly pointed out in the aftermath that the daily carnage from violent crime in the nation’s cities also demands attention.
One of the leading national spokesmen about it is Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he proposed taking on street violence in much the way America tackled terrorism — from a national and local perspective. He wants to see more federal aid for municipal police.
That’s a tall order at a time when most are trying to find ways to cut the federal budget. But it’s hard to argue that police agencies don’t need the help. Indeed, violence is not just an epidemic in urban areas. Violent crime occurs regularly enough in Burlington and Alamance County to raise eyebrows and concerns. For the past few months, Sheriff Terry Johnson has lobbied the county Board of Commissioners over funding for personnel.
So law enforcement from New York and Philadelphia to Burlington, Greensboro, Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles certainly wouldn’t turn down aid at this point.
America hasn’t done much at the federal level to address violence since President Bill Clinton won bipartisan congressional approval of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. The legislation provided $30 billion to fight crime, including funding to help cities hire 100,000 police officers.
On the flip side, it also banned the sale and possession of 19 kinds of assault weapons, something that seems equally unlikely today.
Beyond simply throwing money at the problem — a solution not guaranteed to succeed — urban leaders like Nutter are calling for a national commission on violence. It would be similar to panels created after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the civil rights riots of the 1960s.
While a national discussion would be welcome, we also note that local talks are just as important, if not more so. That’s why we applaud a public discussion about gun violence that will be conducted this week at Elon University. The forum, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in McKinnon Hall, just inside the parking lot entrance to the Moseley Center on campus, will encourage audience members to join the talks. It’s also notable that the panelists will not be made up of the usual talking heads seen on cable TV programs, but people from our community who are aware of the issues people here face each day. The panelists include Elon Police Chief Cliff Parker, Burlington City Councilman Celo Faucette and state House Rep. Steve Ross, R-Alamance.
It’s heartening to see a community event meant to spark open discussion about a problem that impacts us all.
While a consistent strategy for handling violence in our cities would potentially be helpful, ultimately, communities can’t count on federal help when decisions are needed in a moment’s notice. And besides, in these days of sequestered budgets, it’s difficult to get such proposals off the ground.
It’s best that we begin the road to helping ourselves.