"It doesn't matter how tough you are."
"You ain't tougher than a gun or a knife."
"Some crazy motherf*cker! Some loser!"
"Desperation is a motherf*cker!"
"You know what you should do? You should write a story. You should write about three different girls and make it a book. Sex sells."
"I just want to hear stories of how people are getting by."
So that was on May 18th, 2015. Appearing at a community center, Obama declared:
"I've come here to Camden to do something that might have been unthinkable just a few years ago -- and that's to hold you up as a symbol of promise for the nation. (Applause.) Now, I don't want to overstate it. Obviously Camden has gone through tough times and there are still tough times for a lot of folks here in Camden. But just a few years ago, this city was written off as dangerous beyond redemption -- a city trapped in a downward spiral. Parents were afraid to let their children play outside. Drug dealers operated in broad daylight. There weren't enough cops to patrol the streets.
So two years ago, the police department was overhauled to implement a new model of community policing. They doubled the size of the force--while keeping it unionized. They cut desk jobs in favor of getting more officers out into the streets. Not just to walk the beat, but to actually get to know the residents--to set up basketball games, to volunteer in schools, to participate in reading programs, to get to know the small businesses in the area.
Now, to be a police officer takes a special kind of courage. And I talked about this on Friday at a memorial for 131 officers who gave their lives to protect communities like this one. It takes a special kind of courage to run towards danger, to be a person that residents turn to when they're most desperate. And when you match courage with compassion, with care and understanding of the community--like we've seen here in Camden--some really outstanding things can begin to happen.
Violent crime in Camden is down 24 percent. (Applause.) Murder is down 47 percent. (Applause.) Open-air drug markets have been cut by 65 percent. (Applause.) The response time for 911 calls is down from one hour to just five minutes. And when I was in the center, it was 1.3 minutes, right when I was there. (Applause.) And perhaps most significant is that the police and residents are building trust. (Applause.) Building trust."
Wow man, that sounds pretty damn good, with murder down 47 percent and all, but is that true? Here are the figures:
2005--33 murders
2006--32 murders
2007--42 murders
2008--54 murders
2009--34 murders
2010--37 murders
2011--47 murders
2012--67 murders
2013--58 murders
2014--33 murders
2015 as of August 31st--57 murders
From 2005 to 2014, this city of 77,332 people averages 43.7 homicides a year, but Obama took 2013, which has the second highest murder rate in the last decade, and compared it to 2014, the second lowest, and triumphantly declared a 47 percent reduction. There are still four months left to 2015 and Camden already has 57 murders, one of the highest ever. Will Obama come back next year and celebrate the doubling of Camden's murder rate from 2014 to 2015?
As for violent crimes being down, the local head of the NAACP has suggested that the police is downgrading many aggravated assaults to simple assaults to brighten the grim statistics. If you're whacked across the forehead with a tire iron in Camden, perhaps it's only recorded as a high five gone bad? Maybe a drive by shooting is just a transit strike? A slug through the heart is an emphatically enhanced love tap?
Neighborhood Scout just ranked Camden as the most dangerous city in the entire country, a crown it's well familiar with, so if Camden is our "symbol of promise for the nation," it's best we visit our local firing range more often.
"You ain't tougher than a gun or a knife."
"Some crazy motherf*cker! Some loser!"
"Desperation is a motherf*cker!"
"I just want to hear stories of how people are getting by."
So that was on May 18th, 2015. Appearing at a community center, Obama declared:
"I've come here to Camden to do something that might have been unthinkable just a few years ago -- and that's to hold you up as a symbol of promise for the nation. (Applause.) Now, I don't want to overstate it. Obviously Camden has gone through tough times and there are still tough times for a lot of folks here in Camden. But just a few years ago, this city was written off as dangerous beyond redemption -- a city trapped in a downward spiral. Parents were afraid to let their children play outside. Drug dealers operated in broad daylight. There weren't enough cops to patrol the streets.
So two years ago, the police department was overhauled to implement a new model of community policing. They doubled the size of the force--while keeping it unionized. They cut desk jobs in favor of getting more officers out into the streets. Not just to walk the beat, but to actually get to know the residents--to set up basketball games, to volunteer in schools, to participate in reading programs, to get to know the small businesses in the area.
Now, to be a police officer takes a special kind of courage. And I talked about this on Friday at a memorial for 131 officers who gave their lives to protect communities like this one. It takes a special kind of courage to run towards danger, to be a person that residents turn to when they're most desperate. And when you match courage with compassion, with care and understanding of the community--like we've seen here in Camden--some really outstanding things can begin to happen.
Violent crime in Camden is down 24 percent. (Applause.) Murder is down 47 percent. (Applause.) Open-air drug markets have been cut by 65 percent. (Applause.) The response time for 911 calls is down from one hour to just five minutes. And when I was in the center, it was 1.3 minutes, right when I was there. (Applause.) And perhaps most significant is that the police and residents are building trust. (Applause.) Building trust."
Wow man, that sounds pretty damn good, with murder down 47 percent and all, but is that true? Here are the figures:
2005--33 murders
2006--32 murders
2007--42 murders
2008--54 murders
2009--34 murders
2010--37 murders
2011--47 murders
2012--67 murders
2013--58 murders
2014--33 murders
2015 as of August 31st--57 murders
From 2005 to 2014, this city of 77,332 people averages 43.7 homicides a year, but Obama took 2013, which has the second highest murder rate in the last decade, and compared it to 2014, the second lowest, and triumphantly declared a 47 percent reduction. There are still four months left to 2015 and Camden already has 57 murders, one of the highest ever. Will Obama come back next year and celebrate the doubling of Camden's murder rate from 2014 to 2015?
As for violent crimes being down, the local head of the NAACP has suggested that the police is downgrading many aggravated assaults to simple assaults to brighten the grim statistics. If you're whacked across the forehead with a tire iron in Camden, perhaps it's only recorded as a high five gone bad? Maybe a drive by shooting is just a transit strike? A slug through the heart is an emphatically enhanced love tap?
Neighborhood Scout just ranked Camden as the most dangerous city in the entire country, a crown it's well familiar with, so if Camden is our "symbol of promise for the nation," it's best we visit our local firing range more often.
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