Paul Muschick: Be angry, but don’t blame the police for Allentown shootings

A lot of people are angry about the gunfire in Allentown over the past seven weeks. They should be angry. But they shouldn’t be casting so much blame on the police.Police are taking heat because 25 people have been shot since the beginning of June. It’s not the fault of the police that there are criminals in the city. It’s now the department’s job to put the shooters behind bars. But you can’t expect officers to prevent all crime.Officers can’t be on every street corner all day and night. A lot of these shootings happen in the heat of the moment, or at random. While police should develop informants, they’re not going to get tipped off every time. Many times, no one knows what’s going to happen until it happens.Shootings that are planned often are the result of beefs between individuals or gangs. There are no saints involved in such confrontations, so even the loser isn’t going to snitch.The Allentown Police Department and its leadership were criticized at a public meeting Tuesday night at Immaculate Conception Church, and again Wednesday at the City Council meeting.Residents and business owners called for more officers and for proactive policing. It was disappointing that Councilman Ed Zucal, a former officer, joined in the bashing. He should know that police can do only so much to prevent shootings.Having more officers could help. Increasing the police presence can deter crime. But hiring more cops costs money. If city officials proposed raising taxes to beef up services, taxpayers would squawk. You can’t have it both ways.Allentown taxes rose this year for the first time in 13 years. The increase was steep, 27 percent. Don’t expect another hike next year, or maybe for several years. So unless the city can refine its budget to find cash to hire more officers, don’t look for the force to grow by much, if any.Granted, Allentown has had a revolving door to the police chief’s office recently. There have been four chiefs since 2013. Lack of long-term, consistent leadership can stunt any organization. I could see how it might impact community relations, which can help develop informants and solve crimes.But such turnover is not going to result in a spike in crime. Allentown has had crime waves before and it will have them again. That’s life in a city.Reducing the gunfire — we’ll never stop it all — isn’t solely the responsibility of law enforcement.More people have been shot in first six months of 2019 in Allentown than all of last year, statistics showBlame the parents. Too many kids grow up without being taught responsibility. They don’t have rules to follow. Their parents don’t ask who their friends are. So the kids set their own rules. They hang out with the wrong crowd. The next thing you know, they’ve got a gun. And they use it.Blame the neighborhood. Police rely on citizens to report when trouble is brewing and turn in offenders. Sometimes even the victims won’t cooperate. You can’t expect police to do much when that happens.Residents often are afraid to come forward. That’s understandable. They don’t want to get involved and put themselves and their families at risk, especially when vengeful street gangs are involved, as in the shooting outside the Deja Vu nightclub last month that wounded 10 people.But tips can be made anonymously to detectives at 610-437-7721, by text message to 847411 and online through the city’s website, allentownpa.gov/Police.To report an emergency situation, the city’s communications center can be reached anonymously at 610-437-7751.The courts play a role in reducing crime, too. Judges must send a message by locking shooters up for a long time. There’s enormous pressure on the judicial system to be more lenient these days. That’s appropriate in some circumstances. But not when it comes to gun crimes.Even first offenders deserve a harsh sentence. If someone’s brother or friend is locked up for a long time, maybe they’ll think twice about pulling the trigger. I know that’s wishful thinking. But maybe over time it could happen, if sentencing is consistent.State and federal lawmakers must pass laws to keep guns away from some people. No law will stop gang members from mowing each other down. But requiring background checks for all gun sales, and allowing extreme risk protection orders to temporarily remove firearms from people who are dangerous, could prevent some shootings, such as between family members or neighbors or at a workplace.Paul Muschick: 9 gun control bills to support — and 11 to shun in Pennsylvania LegislatureWhat’s scary about the recent Allentown shootings is that they’ve happened in the open, on the street. Some appear to have been random.I wrote a column after the nightclub mass shooting suggesting that nothing good happens after midnight. That largely was tongue-in-cheek, but there’s some truth to it. When this amount of violence is happening in your community, it’s unwise to be on the street late at night where you could be a random target or caught in crossfire.That’s why it’s even more important for the public to help police by speaking up if they see or know something. The longer the gunmen remain at large, the longer the community at large is in danger.People should look to the police to prevent and solve crimes. But be realistic about what they can do. And don’t put so much blame on them during tough times like what Allentown is experiencing now.Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.comMAP: Allentown shootings in 2019
Source: Morningcall