Is Rush Limbaugh Christ?
Rather, it's that they rarely think outside a very small box – which consists of It happened and He said it..
In other words, if a local police chief says violent crime is down because all most of the bad druggies are in the joint, newspapers like the Sun-Sentinel will print it as Gospel – which it did last week.
Trouble is, that sort of flawed logic is like the guy who claims, “We haven't had any violent weather in our neighborhood since I cut down that Australian pine tree.”
Or, “Donald Trump must be import because he says he is.”
Or, “God gave the West Bank to Moses.”
Or, “Saddam has Weapons of Mass Destruction because he got 'em from us.”
But then most journalists are trained to report – rather than think.
And so on.
All of which is enough to make lovers of logic like the late Aristotle and Aquinas to toss their heavenly cookies.
But hey...
If an intellectual heavyweight like Broward State Attorney Mike Satz says crime is down because he's jailed all the dopers, then Rush Limbaugh just may be the Second Coming of Christ.
However...
Facts are – and druggies aside -- the cops appear to be arresting the crap out of whatever moves. Especially in Palm Beach county where the explosion of arrests rivals post-election Iran.
In other words, busting and jailing whomever for whatever, may be the real reason for the dramatic decline in violent crime offenses.
What's more, it's hard to establish any solid relationship between tossing folks in the slammer versus the amount of serious crime – unless they're putting some outrageous shit in Miami's drinking water.
But you do the sobering math.
NOTE: The following data should be a matter for serious review by Broward's Public Safety Coordinating Council – except the startling trends lack the dramatic graphics, loud noises, flashing lights and free food needed to facilitate the PSCC members' attention and occasional comprehension.
. 1998 2008 % change
Broward Pop. 1,460,890 1,758,494 20.4%
Fla. Prison Inmates 7,305 9,160 25.4%
Jail Inmates 4,559 5,360 17.6%
Violent Crimes* 10,778 10,637 (1.3%)
Total Arrests 71,256 90,820 27.0%
Drug Arrests 14,799 16,750 13.2%
Miami-Dade 2,093,314 2,477,289 18.5%
Fla. Prison Inmates 9,213 8,633 (6.3%)
Jail Inmates 7,321 6,979 (7.1%)
Violent Crimes* 31,666 22,005 (30.5%)
Total Arrests 156,723 154,257 (1.6%)
Drug Arrests 25,097 27,547 9.8%
Palm Beach 1,020,521 1,294,654 26.9%
Fla. Prison Inmates 2,960 3,831 29.4%
Jail Inmates 2,536 3,007 18.6%
Violent Crimes* 10,026 11,896 18.7%
Total Arrests 36,950 88,981 140.8%
Drug Arrests 7,005 10,632 51.8%
Florida 15,000,455 18,807,219 25.4%
Fla. Prison Inmates 66,280 98,192 48.1%
Jail Inmates 50,813 61,500 21.0%
Violent Crimes* 139,673 188,158 35.7%
Total Arrest 850,191 1,149,933 35.2%
Drug Arrests 135,565 159,916 17.9%
*Reported Offenses – Murder, rape, robbery, aggravated battery.
Sources: Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Florida Department of Corrections
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