Thread by @davidminpdx

1. Wow. So much this.

Cook County/Chicago county board president Toni Preckwinkle pens letter to Mayor Lightfoot saying that she is "infuriated" by the police chief's "false narrative" that bail reform has caused gun violence in the city. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019…

2. The letter is notable for its clear and direct style.

"It’s a false narrative, and they know it, and it’s infuriating."

"We both know this is simply not true.” chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019…

3. As the letter points out, gun violence in Chicago has PLUMMETED over the past few years as bail reform was instituted. The idea that bail reform is causing gun crimes is just false. Also 0.6% of people released on bond have committed violent offenses. *Zero point six.*

4. Notably, Preckwinkle turns around and points a finger at the mayor's police department.

She says the real root cause of violence in the city is the police department's “clearance rate for homicides … one of the lowest in the nation.” chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019…

5. The problem, Preckwinkle says, "is not what happens when violent criminals come before judges, 'but rather what happens when violent criminals are never brought before a judge.'"
chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019…

6. And just to clarify, the Chicago Police Department's clearance rates for violent crimes are **ABYSMAL**

Only 26% of homicides and 5% of shootings result in an arrest. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019…

7. Imagine the hubris of the Chicago Police Superintendent who points fingers at others – the DA and judges who instituted bail reform – as though they are responsible for violent crime, when his own police **solve 5% of shootings.** Just stunning. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019…

8. But this is more than just a tit for tat between public officials. It goes to heart of a growing debate in this country between two different models of public safety.

9. For decades, the prevailing police model has been hyper-enforcement of low-level crimes while showing very little interest in solving things like murders, rapes and shootings. As broken windows arrests soared, big city clearance rates for violent crimes plummeted.

10. When people complained about violence, police largely through up their hands and blamed the community, engaged in Willie Horton style fearmongering around outlier cases and demanded more *punishment – even as *apprehension for violent crimes plummeted.

11. There is a new group of people – of which I am one – offering a different and better model. We're saying to the police, stop so much low level enforcement. It's cruel, expensive and counterproductive – it alienates the community which you need as allies.

12. Instead get to work. Start solving these serious, violent crimes – murder, rape and shootings. And even as we solve far more of these crimes – holding more people responsible – lets punish people *less.

13. Right now the typical murderer in Chicago does zero days in jail. Zero. Because the typical murder is never solved.

That's not because of the DA. That's not because of bail reform. That's because the Chicago police don't bother to make an arrest.

14. But at the same time, in the rare instance where we do make an arrest, the punishment is often exorbitant. Often life. We let most violent crimes go unpunished entirely, and the few we do punish, we throw away the person forever, as though they cannot grow, change.

15. It's utter madness. Makes no sense. And it's striking that this punitive model is called "tough on crime" when it lets the typical murderer off the hook entirely. And people like me who favor far *greater* accountability (and more modest punishments) are depicted as "soft."

16. In any event, we need to have this discussion. And the media needs to do a far better job recognizing that this isn't "tough" vs. "soft" and it isn't even about balancing "safety" with "justice." It's about two different models of what a safe community looks like.