BERKELEY MOVING FORWARD WITH THE STUPID OPTION

by Bob Walsh

By a vote of 8-0, with one abstention (who thought the proposals did not go far enough) the city of Berkeley CA began moving two nights ago towards institutionally encouraged anarchy.

The police budget was cut by 12% two weeks ago, with an eye towards a 50% cut over the next five years.  A new Department of Transportation will be staffed with unarmed civilians who will be in charge of routine traffic stops within the city.  The goal is to reduce traffic stops based on race.  I guess they will use a quote system with a ratio of white people to non-white people stopped for speeding or running red lights.  It is still not clear what the legal basis will be for creating this force and what the legal authority of non-cops is to make traffic stops, demand drivers licenses and registration documents, etc.  

They also want to move the police out of the homeless enforcement, mental health safety and school police business.  So I guess if you call the cops to complain about some homeless nutter shitting in your business' doorway you will be referred to a homeless advocate who will tell you that you are an entitled bastard who should be happy that he has a business with a doorway nice enough that somebody wants to shit there and that you and your customers should be honored.

Franklin Zimring, a U C Berkeley Law professor, has asserted that he is very skeptical that these proposals will have any positive effect, that they are in fact merely a "wish list" that can not be practically implemented and, even if they were, would not save nearly the money or result in anywhere near the positive outcome the advocates of the changes are asserting.  I guess there is at least one law professor at Berkeley whose head is not rammed firmly up his own ass.