With the layoff of police and firefighters in America's second most dangerous city, are we looking at the possibility of a safe haven for a growing criminal insurgency? by Bill Gee
(centrist)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
It is a terrible irony that on the day marking the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., a city that has come to represent the worst in savage inequalities is about to be dealt another blow. Camden, NJ, which holds the dubious honor of being the second most corrupt and crime-ridden municipalities in the nation, will witness the layoff of over 400 city workers, about half of which are police officers and firefighters. Both residents of the city and Camden's immediate neighbors, namely Cherry Hill, Pennsauken, and Collingswood, fear that a weakened city government will effectively turn back the clock on years of progress in reducing crime and revitalizing this once proud city, and once again turning it back to a city that is a safe-haven for criminals and gangs.
Could it be that Camden will soon become New Jersey's version of Fallujah in Iraq, or will the residents be able to stem the tide of gang violence and drugs through community activism and service?
As a resident of Southern New Jersey, Camden's sorted history has touched me and my family in a very personal way. Both of my parents grew up in Camden where they went to Woodrow Wilson High School together, dated, went to the Senior Prom together, and married a mere three years after graduation. Throughout my childhood I would visit my grandfather and uncles in Camden and I witnessed firsthand this once-proud city deteriorate into America's murder capital.
After decades of rampant corruption in city government and an ever-increasing homicide rate, the state of New Jersey formed a non-partisan trustee government in 1996 with the intent of stamping out corruption and encouraging new investment. This resulted in the 2001 conviction of former Mayor Milton Milan for connections to organized crime. Other accomplishments include the revitalization of the Camden Waterfront, which includes the NJ State Aquarium, a Minor-League baseball stadium (Campbell's Field), Wiggins Park Entertainment Center, the USS New Jersey battleship and the Riverline Light-Rail system, connecting Camden with the state capital. The intent is that through urban revitalization, the city will grow its own tax base to become self-sufficient. So far, the city is struggling to meet that goal.
For all of its accomplishments, Camden remains the second most dangerous city in the nation, and stands as an example that new investment alone is often not enough to transform the culture of a city. Soon after opening, the Riverline became notorious as an inexpensive way for drug dealers in Trenton to connect with their counterparts in Camden. The revitalized riverfront has become a convenient venue for drug dealers to shop for potential clients. While the riverfront itself stands an oasis of urban revitalization, the neighborhoods just beyond the limits of the park remain riddled with gang violence and other neighborhoods remain EPA "superfund" sites that are unfit for human habitation.
Since Camden no longer has the property tax base to support its government, it depends largely on the state for its funding. Unfortunately, the state of New Jersey is broke. Therefore, Camden's current Mayor, Dana Redd, was forced to lay off the city workers, effective January 18th.
Some are predicting that with the reduced emergency services, Camden will quickly deteriorate into a city not unlike Detroit where abandoned houses burn uncontrolled for hours, calls to 911 go unanswered and gangs rule the streets. Already, Camden is seen as a safe-haven for criminals attempting to evade police. With a reduced police presence, could Camden become a city like Fallujah at the height of the Iraq War, where police refuse to enter certain neighborhoods for fear of snipers? Or could it become like the Swat Valley in Pakistan, where criminals and insurgents are free to hide and organize?
To make matters more troubling, Camden is not alone in the United States as potential safe-havens for criminals. According to a CBS poll, the "top ten" most dangerous cities in America are Saint Louis, MO, Camden, NJ, Detroit, MI, Flint, MI, Oakland, CA, Richmond, CA, Cleveland, OH, Compton, CA, Gary, IN, and Birmingham, AL. One of these cities may be near you.
In my next two columns, I will examine two possible solutions to this vexing problem facing Camden. The in the first column, I will take a look at what local residents are doing to take their city back despite the inability of the local government to offer adequate emergency services. In my second column, I will speculate as to a possible scenario if local efforts fail, and a worst-case scenario emerges.
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Posted By: George Dance
Date: January 18, 2011 02:45:44 PM
Up in Canada we've had the same problem: wealthy residents and businesses flee to the ring suburbs, where taxes are lower; leaving the downtown city struggling for revenue; so property taxes go up, meaning more flight to the ring, meaning taxes go up again, etc., etc. ... The solution here has been something called "regional government" -- in essence, that means expanding the boundaries of the city to the entire country, or turning the county into the city, or however you want to look at it. It's tremendously unpopular, as it means raising municipal taxes in the suburbs and even in rural areas that are almost completely unserviced. But it does seem to have prevented inner-city decay, for the short term at least.
Posted By: goat
Date: January 18, 2011 07:46:39 PM
I understand that money doesn't grow on trees and that this mayor must make tough choices, but public safety is always the last place. I've read in articles that the gov't plans on a redeployment of officers that will result in complete coverage. This means one of 2 things. Either there was gross mismanagement of police/fire services previously by this same mayor, (which cost the tax payers by causing them to pay for unnecessary officers and firefighters) or the mayors office is lying.
Laying off these crucial services will only make things worse causing the last of the tax paying business to leave. There has to be a better solution!
I really do not understand why the federal gov't continues to send foreign aid overseas while our cities fall apart. Lets stop rebuilding other countries and rebuild our own.
