With all of the problems with crime, you would think that "Big Data" would be showing us more details about the problem. This blog will explore how "Big Data" could contribute to the solution.
For those not familiar with Big Data, it is this new age of easy access to a wide range of data and advanced computers that can automatically analyze massive amounts of data. I think that most of us know that the first step in solving a problem is to clearly define it. That is where Big Data comes in. We should be able to identify the location and cause of crime to the point that resources could be deployed on a pin point basis to get crime under control. Why has it not happened? That is the point of this blog.
Us poor humans can only analyze small amounts of data compared to modern computers, but with the little that we have, it seems clear that the crime problem is mostly in the urban Black community. If that is the case, why don't we all just admit it? If we did that we could deploy our law enforcement to those locations and leave most of the rest of the place alone.
If you look at the crimes, they are mostly Black on Black. If that is the case, here again, we should be able to figure out how to deal with it better than now. If you look at the looting that has gone on, you can easily see that it is mostly Blacks who are doing the looting. Why can't we admit that and then do some thing about it? It is starting to look like Big Data might have little to add to what most of us already know.
Why don't we have more data on criminals who have no fathers? If it is the lack of fathers, our society could start trying to do something about it. How about graduation from high school? Do kids who do not graduate from high school tend to commit more crimes than those who graduate from high school? I think that most of you with your eyes open know the answer to that question.
For some reason the current generation seems to want the police to spend equal amounts of effort in all segments of society rather than in areas where there is more crime? It is like the war on guns. We have laws now that convicted criminals can not have guns, but they still do. If we make it more difficult for non-criminals to get guns, do you think that will reduce gun crimes? How about our system of bail bonds where many states have zero bond requirement? Do people out on zero bail bond commit more crimes than people who have not yet committed a crime? How about people who commit multiple crimes, should they be dealt with differently than for a person's first crime? How about "three strikes and you are out"?
The next time you watch the news and they cover crime, watch to see if they give you any data on the big picture? Watch to see if they give you numbers on who and where most of the crimes are committed? I know they give you the big numbers, but not down to the level where the police could really start doing something about them. Where is "Big Data"? I am still looking.
PS--Every time they interview a person on the News who claims that they are a "single parent", why don't they ask how they became a "single parent". If we knew why they became a "single parent", we then might know how to prevent the problem of being a "single parent" in the first place! The same goes for not finishing high school. Are we all just blind to the problem and the solution?
