Blame the Victim Excuse the Perp

[jcdenton]

Now, these jurisdiction that have decriminalized drugs, how are they counting the number of people using drugs ????? Mail out questionnaires, walk the streets ?

All of the above actually and more. Its clear to me that you have very little understanding of how a sociologists perform their jobs. Yes conducting surveys is difficult. Yes ensuring data is unbiased is difficult. But that is literally their job. Its what they trained for years to do, and took countless hours of statistics and sociology courses to do. Any statistician knows that they need independent and unbiased results and work tirelessly to achieve that. Please do some actual research into how they conduct these surveys before spouting misinformation. To just spout out blanket statements that every criminologist on the planet is wrong, or lying about their stats, is just crazy.

[my5cents]

Now, these jurisdiction that have decriminalized drugs, how are they counting the number of people using drugs ????? Mail out questionnaires, walk the streets ?

All of the above actually and more. Its clear to me that you have very little understanding of how a sociologists perform their jobs. Yes conducting surveys is difficult. Yes ensuring data is unbiased is difficult. But that is literally their job. Its what they trained for years to do, and took countless hours of statistics and sociology courses to do. Any statistician knows that they need independent and unbiased results and work tirelessly to achieve that. Please do some actual research into how they conduct these surveys before spouting misinformation. To just spout out blanket statements that every criminologist on the planet is wrong, or lying about their stats, is just crazy.

Interesting... "spouting misinformation",,,, from my statement that you quoted, what part is "misinformation" ?

Would seem you might be a little sensitive to me questioning the source of the statistics.

All statistic should be critically examined and questioned. Fully accepting numbers without source details is not sound. Categories should be fully defined and explained.

Starting with the definition of "decriminalization of drugs".

The type of information gathered. Easy to provide a black and white stat,,, number of people entering through a doorway each day of the week.

The number of men who fantasize wearing a diaper, not so easy to obtain and likely not as accurate.

[the truth]

anyone can make stats swing in there favor, so ya the mean nothing, are city proves that,

[AlienSoldier]

anyone can make stats swing in there favor, so ya the mean nothing, are city proves that,

This means Basran could be right or wrong, which means you could be right or wrong as well. So we don't know which way crime is going, we don't know if Kelowna is getting better or worse, so we can't really blame our elected officials :)

[my5cents]

anyone can make stats swing in there favor, so ya the mean nothing, are city proves that,

Yup. Your right foot is in a block of ice and your left foot is in a bucket of boiling water. Statistically you are comfortable.

It's hard to count anything you don't have full control of, birds flying around for example. Now counting addicts, it's possible to count people in a community, however difficult like counting birds you have no control of, now add the fact you need to count people who are addicts. How do you know which of the people are addicts.

[my5cents]

This means Basran could be right or wrong, which means you could be right or wrong as well. So we don't know which way crime is going, we don't know if Kelowna is getting better or worse, so we can't really blame our elected officials :)

The stat in dispute is the number of addicts benefitting from decriminalization.

I believe Basran and all politicians are concerned with the number of reported overdoses attended by first responders and number of deaths. That a pretty black and white area for statistical analysis. No grey area there.

Whether decriminalization is the solution is the question. I say it won't without changes in the availability of counselling and treatment. I favor leaving illicit drugs of any quantity a criminal offense but make available legally prescribed drugs. I'm not advocating locking up every addict with a gram of drugs, some type of diversion into a rehab program should be available, but waiving charges should be conditional on entering an available drug rehab program, and not a voluntary program when caught.

[Grandan]

How bad will this have to get before it clicks into people that dealing with social issues and providing housing goes is far more effective than arresting people for stealing? Why are they stealing? Until we deal with that it will continue to get worse. Reducing income inequality, providing affordable housing, housing for the homeless and a rapid expansion of mental health and addiction services is how you solve this issue. Until then lock your doors.

So, when thieves can smash and grab expensive merchandise from a store that is monitored by a security guard then it is obvious that simply locking your doors is not the answer.
People steal because it is a way to "earn" a living, otherwise they have no earnings to spend.
Why is it that we begrudge people a basic income but in the next breath are prepared to lock them up at a crippling cost to society that may be hundreds of times greater than the petty crime they were convicted of.
The USA spends a disproportionate amount of money locking people up. If a fraction of that money was spent on social programs and education then we might see some changes.
Our doors have electronic automatic locks that ensure our residence is secure. The reason for this is that a sneak thief walked into our home while my wife was outside painting the gable ends and walked off with $200 from my wife's purse.
A lot of thefts are from unsecured cars and trucks. People not removing valuables from their vehicles adds to the problem. I can't begin to count the numbers of times people report losing everything from wallets and purses to tools and cameras/phones.
Not all thieves are homeless. The homeless have a limited capacity to hoard vs a person in a rental.
A lot of what you see in the typical homeless person's grocery cart is in fact pulled from dumpsters and has low value. A lot of the remainder is camping gear and other found objects.
People who don't put valuables out of sight are begging to be ripped off.

[the truth]

typical, blame the victims of crime

[Grandan]

typical, blame the victims of crime

Better still, blame the messenger.

[MAPearce]

anyone can make stats swing in there favor, so ya the mean nothing, are city proves that,

This means Basran could be right or wrong, which means you could be right or wrong as well. So we don't know which way crime is going, we don't know if Kelowna is getting better or worse, so we can't really blame our elected officials :)

Uh ... if you can't tell that crime is this city is getting worse just by opening your door to find yet another one of your bike gone or another car window smashed out , you don't have a bike or a car ..

[the truth]

yup

[AlienSoldier]

This means Basran could be right or wrong, which means you could be right or wrong as well. So we don't know which way crime is going, we don't know if Kelowna is getting better or worse, so we can't really blame our elected officials :)

Uh ... if you can't tell that crime is this city is getting worse just by opening your door to find yet another one of your bike gone or another car window smashed out , you don't have a bike or a car ..

It's not the City's job to protect your property. Try putting your bike in the shed and car in the garage. Try not keeping your valuables in the car. At some point we all need to take responsibility for ourselves.

[fluffy]

It's not the City's job to protect your property. Try putting your bike in the shed and car in the garage. Try not keeping your valuables in the car. At some point we all need to take responsibility for ourselves.

Too true. We could go on for days trying to sleuth out the root causes of rising property crime, but those that make it easy for thieves are definitely not helping.

[the truth]

o look criminal junkie shelters staying open longer https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... in-Kelowna.

[alanjh595]

o look criminal junkie shelters staying open longer https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... in-Kelowna.

Good for them, it keeps the vulnerable off the streets and out of the bushes.