Blame Bush for Increased Urban CrimeRandy Shawbyline‚ Apr. 19‚ 2007A gang murder in an Allstar Donuts next to my office at Golden Gate and Hyde Streets, and another neighborhood shooting has provoked discussion of how people with violent records were allowed to remain on the streets. The Allstar killer had two prior convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, and last May was arrested on a gun charge. But the San Francisco District Attorney’s office was unable to convince a court to return the assailant to jail. Blame for the other Tenderloin shooting goes to the state regional parole authority, which did not revoke the shooter’s probation when it could have done so. But these killings, like those in other parts of San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, Philadelphia, South-Central Los Angeles and urban areas across America, are not a product of uncaring mayors, liberal judges, untrained police forces, inept prosecutors, or other forces in the criminal justice system. Rather, this nationwide epidemic of urban violence is a function of the Bush Administation, which has spawned hopelessness toward the future among the poor, and allowed two million more families to enter poverty since 2001. |