Better Community Policing Needed in Houston Neighborhood

[Megan Chambers]

     In chapter 14 of Neal Tannahill's textbook Texas Government, Policy and Politics, community policing is discussed on page 376. Community policing is basically this idea that if law enforcement is more involved in the surrounding communities and neighborhoods then there will be less crime in those areas. Well, recently an eight year old boy was hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding his bicycle in a neighborhood. According to the news clip, the child was on his way to his grandmother's house when he was killed.

     What makes this story even more terrible than this, is that the people said that cars driving too fast in their neighborhood was quite a common thing. Some suggested speed bumps as a possible solution to prevent further tragedies from occurring. In the end, this child's life might not have been lost if law enforcement had been more involved in this neighborhood. If speeding was already a problem then it is obvious that law officers had not been very present to keep this kind of risk down. 

     I chose this news story because it breaks my heart to see such a young life lost due to carelessness. This man was drunk, and he should not have been driving in the first place. However, he was driving, and there was no one to stop him until it was too late. History shows that people will drink whether or not it is legal, so, the solution is not to outlaw drinking. But something must be done to place some kind of control on those who do drive while they are drunk.

     I personally would address this problem by increasing the amount of community policing in the Houston neighborhoods. I feel like this technique works and that it would probably save many lives. My faith plays a big role in my response because I am truly disturbed by horrible accidents like these, and I want them to be prevented. In the Bible we see stories like when the boy Eutychus fell out of the window and died while listening to Paul speak (Acts 20:1-12). Paul was horrified, and God used him to bring the boy back to life. It is very clear that tragedies like these are displeasing to the Lord, and therefore as His follower, they are displeasing to me. Thus, my faith leads me to suggest the solution of community policing.

http://www.khou.com/video?id=257921131&sec=548342

[Stephen Grothe]

I would definitely agree with you Megan that this accident was truly a tragic event and that community policing would really help with the crime rate.  As you pointed out those areas where police stress the community policing there is a lower crime rate and this is due to the fact that they have a better relationship with the people in the areas they patrol so they have more help when crimes happen with the communities along with having more knowledge of who the people are who are committing the crimes. I feel that another solution to this specific issue of drinking while driving is to make the punishment for those who commit this crime greater.  When those people drink to where they can no longer safely operate a vehicle and then chose to go and drive they are putting everyone around them lives in danger.  These people seem to care more about having a good time then about the value of other peoples lives and that is truly sad.  I would suggest that when someone is bought driving under the influence that they immediately lose there license and we make the process and time it take to get there licenses back hard.  Driving is not a right someone has like free speech, it is a privilege that is given to them, so if they chose to use that privilege and put other peoples' lives in danger, then they don't deserve the privilege to drive and they should have to work harder to earn that privilege again. 

[Emily Greetham]

Megan, this was a great response. My heart was absolutely shattered upon reading that an eight-year-old boy was killed under circumstances that should have been avoided completely. There is nothing that angers me more than drunk driving, as the lives of innocent people are constantly jeopardized because of foolishness. This article affected me personally for two reasons. The first is that I grew up in Katy, TX, a suburb right outside of Houston. The second is that I had two grandparents die in a drunk-driving accident, and my dad was put in a 6 month coma because of the same accident. Nothing rages my anger as much as drunk-driving does, so reading of an 8 year old losing his life unnecessarily breaks my heart.

I like your idea of increasing police activity in communities and neighborhoods. I would also suggest more intense punishment for such acts. I believe that if the law treated drunk-driving as seriously as it really is, the consequences of being caught doing it would be so intimidating that it would be avoided altogether a lot more. I also think enforcement of this law needs to be stricter. Because I am a Christian who understands the value of life, my faith influences the passion I have in this matter. I serve a just God and like seeing justice here on earth; therefore, when I see lives being stripped away unfairly, I get angry. I think for such an intense crime, more dramatic measures must be taken.