“Instead of enforcing quality of life issues that promote good health and a lawful society, Denver liberals would rather protect immigrants from deportation.”
Denver news stations report that certain crimes such as panhandling, unauthorized camping, and public defecation are now on par with average traffic tickets. Denver leaders call this “sentencing reform,” and they want to prevent homeless and other individuals from being wrapped up in immigration and law enforcement issues for what they consider minor quality of life infractions. But the broken window theory correctly states that quality of life offenses usually result in more serious crimes, and citizens should expect the government to protect and promote the highest quality of life instead of promoting policies that protect some people at the expense of others.
In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, New York City had skyrocketing crime rates that made the city feel like a despotic wasteland. But leaders like Mayor Giuliani and intellectuals like Heather MacDonald point out that stopping minor offenses usually prevents more serious later offenses from occurring.
For example, an individual might pee in the hallway of an apartment complex several hours before he moves to a different location in the same complex to commit a rape. A person trespasses in the alleyway between businesses as a prelude to a drug deal. When New York City cracked down on these supposedly minor quality of life issues, they reduced the crime rate by a significant degree—to the point that most people now consider New York a friendly tourist destination.
But quality of life issues aren’t minor for the law-abiding citizens who have to live through deteriorating conditions. Putting aside the fact that policing quality of life issues helps prevent more serious crimes, items like public defecation are a clear health hazard.
During the late 19th century in America, rising urban areas had to contend with rivers of fecal matter flowing through the gutters and the associated diseases. Through proper investment, governments installed indoor plumbing, sewers, and sanitation systems that reduced infectious diseases and improved the quality of life for citizens.
Instead of enforcing quality of life issues that promote good health and a lawful society, Denver liberals would rather protect immigrants from deportation. Changing the laws to protect immigrants from being arrested and deported undermines the liberal claim that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than citizens.
The kind of people who commit these crimes seems like the opposite of the law-abiding, good church folk that liberals would have us believe are just innocent victims of Trump xenophobia. In short, the people who commit these crimes seem like excellent candidates for deportation and shouldn’t be protected by politicians at the expense of those who know how to use a restroom.
Finally, to add insult to injury, the liberals who changed these laws did so using manipulative rhetoric. Instead of being obvious about their intentions, they disguise their attempts as “reform.” After all, who would be opposed to reform? But not every reform is worthy or worthwhile.
Despite the manipulative politician language, lessening the restrictions for public defecation and other quality of life laws will lead to more serious crimes, and they will lessen the quality of life for law-abiding citizens. The government should be looking at violators of these crimes as worthy of jail and deportation.
