“Drug-related property crimes” emerges as the latest scare call from Capitol building operants. An array of poorly correlated data and distorted interpretations embellishes the rhetoric of the state legislature. That’s what politicians do — if we continue to encourage said behaviors.
Mirroring national hysteria, Alaska’s legislative leadership crusades with myth-bearing info bytes. Typical buzz phrases are trumpeted: law enforcement for safer communities, escalate penalties, ensure your property is protected. One gets the impression our legislators have rediscovered the Reagan-Clinton catechism for the War on Drugs. Of course, in keeping with the mythology, the disastrous effects of said War are relegated into obscurity.
This time around the grandparents and parents who’ve witnessed and/or experienced the social, political, and judicial costs of that War expect a more considerate and better informed response to our newer drug abuse problems. None will benefit from fear peddling and confused data manipulations. All will appreciate an earnest effort by legislators. The wisest common ground for any possible governmental initiative is to recognize OPR-heroin abuse is fundamentally a social-medical problem, not a criminal problem (albeit some criminal activity is related.)
Recent legislative rhetoric erroneously connects property crimes with the OPR-heroin troubles. This is a huge disservice to those who work tirelessly to address drug addiction; likewise it hampers enforcement against clearly definable property crimes. Some drug abusers commit property crimes, just as some property violators are drug-free persons.
The legislature deserves credit for adopting SB 91 last year, primarily because the new law leads the way in judicial-institutional reform. Its greatest achievement is to distinguish public safety and law enforcement as distinct parts of a whole behavior code for civil conduct. A significant further step will come when prosecutorial aggression refocuses away from minor, victimless violations in order to better deter property and personal injury crimes.
William McCord
Retired educator
Haines
