EssEff: London is Calling BS

This Examiner front page is just too good not to post.  You would be forgiven if your immediate reaction is "What took you so long?"  We have to keep an eye on SF since "when they sneeze, we get a cold" from the derivative impact.  You may have seen a bit of that in town and I don't just mean the Apple store smash and grabs.  We are far from a crime-free city and I will be updating the B'game statistics for this year when they come available.  In the meantime, Ms. Breed seems to have gotten that Old Time Religion and the Gavinor sounds like he thinks the California rep for crime might hinder his presidential aspirations.

Gov. Gavin Newsom confronted the national media furor over mass retail theft in California on Friday, unveiling a more than $300 million proposal to help law enforcement fight organized criminal rings.  The Democratic governor said his plan will include $255 million for a grant program to give police more tools to arrest and investigate thieves who participate in such smash-and-grab crimes, increasingly brazen heists that have drawn widespread attention in recent months.

Again, you would be forgiven if your immediate reaction is "What took you so long?" followed by "Wait, shouldn't these priorities already be in the $1.8 billion budget?"  Here in B'game, we spent a lot of time on policing last year (remember the big Townhall that showed nothing?)  No matter, if Gavin wants to pass out money, we should stick out our hand.  The net effect of the Defund the Police movement is to increase police funding.....the Law of Unintended Consequences will not be denied.

Comments

[Joe]

Here's the details of the $300 mil:

The governor’s plan calls for several other key components to beef up policing and prosecution efforts:

• $18 million, over three years, to create a full-time team within the California attorney general’s office dedicated to prosecuting organized retail theft

• $30 million in grants, over three years, to help county district attorneys prosecute theft

• $20 million to help establish a National Guard unit to combat drug crimes at the U.S.-Mexico border

• $20 million in grants to help small businesses harmed by retail theft

• $25 million to help local police departments sponsor gun buybacks, where people surrender firearms in exchange for money or gift cards

I'd love to know where the other $200 mil is going............

[JP]

The fish rots from the head https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Group-robbery-attempt-thwarted-at-South-Bay-16713938.php

[chickens come home to roost]

And ofte tyme swich cursynge wrongfully retorneth agayn to hym that curseth, as a bryd that retorneth agayn to his owene nest.

[Christopher Cooke]

A main factor driving the retail theft surge is the ability of thieves to sell the stolen goods online for a lot more money, up to 80 percent of retail price, on Amazon and via other online markets such as Facebook. And, the ability to organize these flash mobs via social media. So, once again, thanks Facebook

[MBGA]

Don't give Facebook any ideas. They might turn all that unused office space on the waterfront into retail (or wholesale) showrooms.