maiios t1_j9oy0so wrote
Reply to comment by The_Waxies_Dargle in If someone says “the most effective nonprofit (or community group) in Baltimore” - what groups do you think of? by caseyswatts
They use people who have been through the criminal justice system and lived through the worst of what people grow up with in Baltimore. They survive a penal system that is designed to punish, and not rehabilitate. And as we saw with the GTTF, they also have to deal with cops that have every reason to throw them away. And with all of that, you are worried that they might be carrying a gun or might be involved in some drugs?
I guess I see it as one of the hardest jobs in the world, and I am not worried that they aren't choir boys. And they are doing this on a tiny fraction of the budget of the BPD.
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9p8zcz wrote
I think the question is simply whether or not they're reducing violence by a large enough factor to justify the money we spend on it, and whether or not we could see greater effects by reallocating that funding elsewhere.
> Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland are working on a more comprehensive study of Safe Streets that should be released early next year.
Sounds like we might hopefully have a better idea soon, though.
YoYoMoMa t1_j9pbx8x wrote
>and whether or not we could see greater effects by reallocating that funding elsewhere.
Well the BPD gets 4 fucking billion dollars so we can talk results when we are spending 1 billion on non cop solutions. And why does no one demand cop money be tied to results or drops in crime?
I believe we are currently in the 10 million dollar range for community efforts like this if it literally stops one murder it is money way better spent than on enforcement.
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pc55d wrote
That's the point... If this non-cop solution has shitty results, then give that money to a better one that will do better.
Waste in one column doesn't justify waste in another. All public money should be accounted for.
YoYoMoMa t1_j9pfbwf wrote
I agree, but how on earth do we quantify the impact of these programs? How do we know if a change, or no change, in crime is the impact of them or the police? Or any other factor?
My point isn't that we shouldn't worry about the impact of a $10 million program. Just that we should spend literally ten thousand times the time, effort, and money making sure the cops are not wasting our money, because they have literally ten thousand times the budget.
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pguh1 wrote
Recidivism rates amongst program participants judged against general recidivism rates seems like a good place to start just off the top of my head, I suppose.
Cunninghams_right t1_j9smm3l wrote
the better question is whether or not they are effective. it's hard to measure.
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