In the Saturday letter, “Let’s concentrate on violent offenders,” the author thinks that police should only concentrate on “violent” crimes. He cites this idea as an extension of Rep. Mary Helen Roberts’ idea of decriminalizing or even making legal possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Proponents of legalizing marijuana sometimes claim that trying to enforce marijuana laws is a waste of taxpayer money. The letter writer seems to imply this argument with “nonviolent” crime.
He leaves the definition of “nonviolent” crime to the reader. One series of nonviolent crimes are property crimes — burglary, car theft, vandalism, etc. Instructing police to not investigate property crimes is a big mistake.
For one thing, we are more likely to be victims of a property crime (burglary, larceny, car theft, and arson) than a violent crime (murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault). According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) Web site, for 2007, the violent crime rate for Washington state was 3.30 per 1,000 population while the property crime rate was 40.0 per 1,000.
Some might even argue that police agencies need to focus more of their efforts on property crime. The WASPC web site shows that the value of stolen property in 2007 was $354,106,974, with about 39 percent of that property recovered. Property crime is an expensive drain for citizens, insurance companies as well as government.
It isn’t realistic to expect police agencies to sacrifice violent crime response in favor of increased property crime investigation. But, police agencies do need to find ways to become more effective in preventing and investigating property crimes. One method is to partner with the public through neighborhood watch programs such as the one that the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has re-established in the last year.
Steve Moller
Snohomish
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
