Crisis in Public Safety

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Darrell Castle talks about crime in American cities which is out of control due to public policies not to prosecute it.

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CRISiS IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report. This is Friday the 4^th day of August in the year of our Lord 2023. I will be talking about crime and specifically crime out of control because of public decisions not to prosecute it, all backed and enforced by George Soros funded district attorneys. Today’s discussion will concentrate on the city of Oakland, California with the premise that Oakland is an example of what is happening across the country.

Yes, crime is exploding across the country fueled by progressive policies of non-prosecution of criminals. It should be obvious to us by this time that if you make crime legal you will get a lot of crime. Well, crime is so bad in Oakland that the NAACP recognizes that prosecuting criminals, even if they are black, is in the best interest of the community and the African American community is no different.

When my city of Memphis, Tennessee elected a Soros backed DA by a narrow margin in the last election many on the left celebrated. I wondered at the time if all those African Americans celebrating knew what would happen to their communities under his term. Memphis, as a result, suffers from the same problems as Oakland, California although not as severe. Normally, California is a trend setter and I suppose that Soros funded D.A. crime is no different.

Crime is so out of control in Oakland that the President of the Oakland NAACP, Cynthia Adams, along with the senior pastor of the Acts Full Gospel Church, Bishop Bob Jackson, wrote an open letter to the elected leaders of their community and I will share some of that letter with you now.

“Oakland residents are sick and tired of our intolerable public safety crises that overwhelmingly impacts minority communities. Murders, shootings, violent armed robberies, home invasions, car break-ins, sideshows, and highway shootouts have become a pervasive fixture of life in Oakland. We call on elected leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency and bring together massive resources to address our public safety crises. African Americans are disproportionately hit the hardest by crime in East Oakland and other parts of the city. But residents from all parts of the city report that they do not feel safe. Women are targeted by young mobs and viciously beaten and robbed in downtown and uptown neighborhoods. Asians are assaulted in Chinatown. Street vendors are robbed in Fruitvale. News crews have their cameras stolen while they report on crime. PG&E workers are robbed and now require private security when they are out working. Everyone is in danger.”

Well, that is indeed horrible, isn’t it. The conditions this lady describes are not something that Americans should have to endure. However, there is a dear price that must be paid for progressive politics. The basic job requirement of District Attorneys is to represent the people in criminal matters and prosecute criminals. When the prospective D.A. is running for election against a good D.A. who actually does her job and prosecutes criminals, but the people reject her in favor of one selected by George Soros, the conditions described in the letter are what you get.

Let me give you a little background on how George Soros managed to destroy Oakland, California. Oakland, like Memphis, once had a good D.A. who understood her job and did it well. Her name was Nancy O’Malley and in Memphis her name was Amy Weirich. Those two women were voted out of office and replaced by D.A.’s funded by George Soros, and who promised to usher in a new era in how the D.A.’s office responded to crime. In essence, the promise was that black people accused of crimes would only be prosecuted or held in confinement in extremely rare circumstances.

The new progressive D.A.s are Pamela Price in Oakland, and Steve Mulroy in Memphis. The progressive utopia promised to the voters has proven very difficult to achieve in both cities. Instead of utopia, a climate of fear has been allowed to pervade the public mind so that people are afraid to go downtown or what we in Memphis refer to as Midtown. Businesses, such as the Hard Rock Café in Memphis close because people are afraid to venture into their areas at night.

The new D.A. in Oakland got herself into a little jam immediately after taking office, but she has remained defiant and appears to be doubling down. Jasper Wu, a 23-month-old boy, was shot and killed on an Oakland freeway in November 2021 and three suspects were arrested. The D.A. at the time was Nancy O’Malley and she charged the three defendants with murder and a long list of enhancements. The chief enhancement was adding the charge of special circumstances to the murder charge.

In California adding that enhancement under 190.2 PC allows the accused if convicted to be sentenced to life without parole or even to death. Oakland now has a new D.A. and upon taking office she removed the special circumstances from the three defendants. Asian Americans have been in an uproar expressing fear that the life of this little boy would not be properly respected. The D.A. decided to continue with murder charges against two of the defendants, but without special circumstances enhancement.

The special circumstances in the case included shooting from a car and intentionally killing as an active gang member. D.A. Price said she would continue the serious charge, but without special circumstances. Is that a simple technicality because they could still be sentenced to life in prison, but they would be eligible for parole. Jasper Wu’s parents are not happy because they want maximum punishment for their son’s life. They, like many sensible Californians, have relocated outside the state.

In the meantime, District Attorney Pamela Price is facing a recall effort after only 6 months on the job. Jasper Wu was only 23 months old, but he has the potential to bring down the Oakland District Attorney. The residents of Oakland have their meetings and they talk and complain about crime. Home invasion robberies and other violent crimes, already high are up 10% over the past year. She was elected to go soft on criminals and that is what she is doing, but there is nothing left in Oakland for anyone who is not a criminal. That is the attitude of many who have spent their lives in Oakland.

Public safety meetings are packed, but Pamela Price remains defiant. Her answer is this: “All counties across the state have been asked to decriminalize young people, and so our county has adopted that as a policy. “The people shouted at her that there must be consequences for criminals, but again she remained defiant. She told them that her progressive policies of allowing juveniles to commit crimes without fear of reprisal will give young people hope. Let’s go back to the NAACP president’s letter to see what she thinks about that policy.

“Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals. If there are no consequences for committing crime in Oakland, crime will continue to soar.”

The President of the Oakland chapter of the NAACP has something that the D.A. apparently does not have and that is the ability to use elemental logic. She also has a concern and even a love for her community and its people and that is something missing in the District Attorney’s office. Giving young criminals hope is more important to the D.A. than protecting the lives and property of the people who elected her. She might also consider not creating such a climate of fear that people are afraid to walk the streets and they have lost all respect for the law and the system it is supposed to preserve and protect. The young criminals have hope but their victims do not. Now one more comment from the NAACP president’s letter and then I have a question for her.

“We are in crises and elected leaders must declare a state of emergency and bring resources together from the city, the county, and the state to end the crises. We are 500 polices officers short of the number that experts say Oakland needs. Our 911 system does not work. Residents now know that help will not come when danger confronts them. Worse, criminals know that too.”

So, Ms. Adams when Oakland gets its 500 new police officers and they are sent out to confront and arrest violent criminals what happens to the criminals. What is happening in Memphis is jokingly referred to as catch and release. When the criminals are arrested and then released without bail and often without charges it fosters even more disrespect for the law and trains criminals that there are no consequences except for the victims. The other question I have is what the consequences of collateral damage will be because inevitably there will be some.

Police are reluctant to go out and risk their lives when they are not certain the system and the people are behind them and to this point the system has been clearly behind the criminal. If that were not true there would have been no open letter to the leaders and I would not be talking about it. How does the system get behind the police again? How does the individual officer regain confidence that he will not be prosecuted if he draws his weapon? Perhaps there are no good answers to these questions, but I submit that the answers start in the District Attorney’s office, at least in most cities.

This kind of problem is happening across America. Take Chicago for example with its Soros D.A., the notorious Kim Foxx. Perhaps you think that the statement of Oakland D.A. Pamela Price was a little callous when she said that if criminals were not charged it might give these young people hope. Compare that to Ms. Foxx in Chicago. Ms. Foxx refuses to charge criminals when they kill each other. Instead, she describes it as mutual combat. I suppose its alright if violent criminals want to kill each other, but its not good for any city to develop such a climate of violence. Ms. Foxx says she will not seek reelection when her term expires in 2024 so I guess George Soros will have to find another candidate to continue his wanton destruction of Western Civilization.

American cities are the center of civilization in America. People flocked to them because they offered safety, comfort, wealth, and community. They have always been the medium for the exchange of worthwhile ideas and centers of trade. They represent American prosperity and the opportunity to succeed. The ascent of man in Western Civilization has been built on cities and without them it would not have happened, therefore, to destroy cities is to destroy civilization.

American cities are now experiencing collapse at an alarming rate. Much of the collapse can be attributed to the general degradation of society actively promoted by academia, the media, and the entertainment industry. A philosophy of neo-Marxism, and intense collectivism, fueled by what has come to be called wokeism, for lack of a better word, has completely captured governments everywhere. In the cities especially, their corrupt and degraded ideas quickly spread to the general population.

Finally, folks, I was glad to read the letter from the NAACP President because this is an attack on civilization and if she recognizes that perhaps we can fight it together.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,

Thanks for listening.