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| Sheriff Simmons' community roundtable on violence and crime meets in Brownsville, 10-18-2022 |
Escambia County Sheriff Simmons sponsored a community round table yesterday evening, and there were lots of discussions among the panel and lots of input from the community as well as the assembled group of elected leaders. I think everyone at the table is/was interested in solutions. Genuinely. Many have ideas about how we can address some aspects of the violence problem in our community. Many had reasons why they felt we have reached this point in society. For my part, I did provide input about my thoughts on the problem and my belief that any solution(s) will require a short, medium, and long range set of strategies, many of which I described in my pre-roundtable blog post on this topic.
After we went around the room a couple of times and answered audience questions, the sheriff announced the same group would definitely meet again, more than likely in January. He also asked that each of us come prepared to describe what concrete steps we are taking within our own organizations and spheres of infulence-- or are prepared to take--- to help with this community violence epidemic. So watch for this upcoming meeting early next year, it should be good.
Some issues that will be looked upon more and more going forward to curb some of the violence and to support young men (the primary culprit in most all violence in the community according to the sheriff) and their families include redoubled efforts at engagement utilizing methods like Parent University, Organized Youth Sports, and additional education and training of young students in conflict resolution and the aftermath of violence utilized as a means of resolving life issues. The panel also appeared to settle in to the idea of starting small with one or two local communities at a time for testing/implementing any agreed-upon, funded proposals. Senator Broxson stated he'd sponsor a pilot program at the state level for Escambia County to try this approach.
A Coupule of Take Aways:
SPORTS
I agree in part that sports is a way to help some at-risk youth---but only to a point. I played sports, as did all three of my children and all of their friends. But what are the core value(s) of "sports"? When I wrestled in 9th grade--the objective was to beat the opponent. When I rolled with a Judo Sensei--the goal was to throw your opponent using his force and velocity against him to defeat him. There were no social value judgments attached--none that stuck. Baseball and Football were great and fun--but the object was to work together as a team beat the opponent and win. In tennis, I try to beat my opponent. So what social/core and moral values do sports instill that will assist young men in not wanting to lead a dysfunctional, gangster type lifestyle, sling drugs, beat people, and devolve into a life of violence? Yes sports are fun, yes they instill a desire to win and to work with a team--but I don't know that this, in and of itself, instills the core, moral values that are missing from many kids' lives. (Interesting that other groups like FBLA, FFA, Key Club, Mentor Programs, Band, or even Boy Scouts were not mentioned at all.... why not?) I was a boy scout and I learned a lot of great and long lasting lessons through scouting. Call me a nerd if you want, but a huge part of what a scout learns and does (before camping and fun stuff) is core values. I still remember the pledge: "A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverant." It is and was a great youth development program--but has been marginalized and stigmatized by the mainstream in the 3 1/2 decades since my participation....
TECHNOLOGYPensacola Police Chief Eric Randall said it ---and it resonated. He is a technology guy. I am, too. And even if we do nothing to curb violence and violent community crime--technology will, eventually, end the days of the common criminal. Cameras that are ubiquitous, high tech drones that can circle entire city quadrants and video the entire area for multiple days on end, along with other high-tech marvels we've not even seen yet will eventually lead to the much easier resolution of murders and other crimes ---without the need for eyewitness corroboration. We're getting there sooner than I thought. According to Sheriff Simmons-we are already at a clearance rate of 68% for the 25 homocides in the county this year. That is a big number. We will soon need more prisons and jails--but technology, robots, drones, cameras, Intuitive AI modeling, advanced DNA technology, even sentinal robots---and other high tech surveillance capabilities we don't even have yet will come online over the next several decades and we will have clearance rates for these violent crimes that are nearly 100%. Meanwhile, citizens of means (who already largely self-segregate to gated, armed security protected enclaves of communities) will have new self-protection capabilities that will all but sheild them from the violence of the common criminal. So if we do nothing, or if we do nothing meaningful and impactful but rather simply tweak at the margins--eventually technology will take care of the issue and clean up the mess itself--leading to more and more incarceration particularly in pockets of our community where we already see geometrical growth in generational crime and dysfunction.
FATHERS and FAMILIES
Several panelists followed up my initial comments about the need to redouble our efforts at keeping families together and the dramatic disadvantage young men face when there is no father in the house. One agreed and understood the need for that to be a priority. Interestingly, two others appeared to downplay the importance of the father. One said he was able to achieve great things and he only had a mother--no father. Of course, like in his case apparently, there are strong mothers who step into the breach of a broken family and through hard work and sheer force of will are able to inspire/encourage/propel their children forward into lives of great productivity and away from crime.
