Cambridge MA Crime Task Force

Cambridge MA Crime Task Force

Members of the Crime Task Force and City Councilors speak as if Cambridge
is the first city to ever have a crime problem. (Matt Dunning, "Crime task
force to hold public forum," Cambridge Chronicle, September 20, 2007)
They conveniently ignore major causal factors. In 1995 Princeton Professor
John J. DiIulio cautioned, [there are] "40 million kids 10 years old and under"
who are about to become teen-agers, the biggest group of adolescents in a
generation, and many of them "fatherless, godless and jobless." (FOX
BUTTERFIELD, "Crime Continues to Decline, but Experts Warn of Coming 'Storm' of
Juvenile Violence," The New York Times, November 19, 1995) The prediction was
that these young men would create a serious increase in crime. Twelve years
later the Cambridge City Council wonders what to do. Does government corruption
contribute to high levels of crime?
Why did City government hold its head in the sand all these years? If they
were unable to solve this with ten years notice what will they propose after 14
months with amateurs? The Councilors have eyes but cannot see. They have ears
but cannot hear. The City Manager speaks no evil, hears no evil and sees no
evil. He is not a monkey.
Perhaps Decker's idea will work. Brief the Council on what the Task Force
is doing. Yes, that sounds like a workable solution to crime.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Crime task force to hold public forum
By Matt Dunning/Chronicle Staff
Cambridge Chronicle
Thu Sep 20, 2007, 06:00 AM EDT
Cambridge -

The task force charged with presenting the City Council with a long-term plan to
curb violent crime in the city plans to hold a citywide public forum next week.

A week ago, it looked as if the same task force had painted itself into a bit of
a corner.

By seeking the input of the City Council on when to hold a public forum —
scheduled for Sept. 25 in the Sullivan Chamber at City Hall — the task force
could have inadvertently delayed the release of its final report.

Two weeks ago, the task force that focuses on how to lessen crime in Cambridge
spent more than an hour of its regular meeting trying to decide when, where and
under what circumstances to hold a public forum to gather input as it prepares
its report to the council. The task force has been working since the beginning
the summer on a comprehensive safety report — due Oct. 22 —aimed at stemming
violence in Cambridge, in response to a rash of shootings last summer.

Last Monday, Mayor Ken Reeves — who co-chairs the task force with City Manager
Bob Healy — told his fellow councilors that the task force wanted the council’s
opinion on what the proper format of the public forum would be.
[...]
In response, Councilor Marjorie Decker said she felt as though the council
hadn’t been given nearly enough information about the task force’s progress
throughout the summer, and requested that the council be briefed on the status
of the report before making a recommendation for a public forum.
[...]
-mdunning@cnc.com