El Salvador and their Response to Crime
The El Salvadoran Government just released footage of their new 'mega-prison' amid their crackdown on crime. This prison can hold 40,000 inmates and comprises El Salvador's worst offenders and gang members. Inmates are stripped down to shorts and have their heads shaved. Critics say the government has cracked down too hard on crime. Human rights organizations claim that innocent citizens have been targets of hard-on-crime policies. The El Salvadoran Government could have gotten caught up in overreaching during their crime crisis. Who knows? But, in 2015, El Salvador was labeled the most dangerous country in the world. The United States Secretary of State's website encourages travelers to reconsider traveling to El Salvador due to crime. The government's response to crime may not be correct or perhaps too harsh for some, but at least the government is trying to do something about the violence in the country.
In American cities, crime is now overlooked, with bail reform policies allowing criminals back on the streets without consequences. We often hear stories of repeat offenders committing horrendous crimes, only for them to be recently released. Criminal behavior will decrease if the laws on the books are strict and enforced. Instead, we have gone soft on crime to our peril. The Sinaloa Cartel runs drugs through our country at a record rate, and we do nothing to stop them. If you decided in 2020 not to wear a mask in certain states, such as California, you would have faced swift resistance. In California, a criminal can steal up to almost $1,000 and receive a misdemeanor. In Alabama, it only takes theft to reach $500 before it is a felony. The streets in any town are safer in Alabama than in California.
Videos circle around social media showing subway systems in Boston, D.C., or even in NYC, where people rob others, harass them or even spit on them. I have seen drug deals and drug addicts shoot up in the parts of New York City that are considered safe. What is happening in America is a travesty that should not continue.
When you properly police the streets, crime will go down. Police departments should receive support. Officers should be highly vetted to work as an officer. Offenders should face harsher sentences to combat criminal behavior. To say that our current laws regarding crime are too strict is laughable. This post is not an endorsement of the crime response by the El Salvadoran government. I have never visited there. I cannot attest to how their crackdown policies affect the average citizen. However, their response backs up the theory of what happens when you crack down on crime. Crime will reduce when punished. The homicide rate in El Salvador decreased by 56% when comparing 2022 to 2021. If our government could focus on reducing crime instead of supporting it, we also could see a reduction in our crime rates. We do not have to continue to allow criminal gangs to cross our borders. With political will, we can prevent crime. We do not have to sit idle while criminals take control of our streets. We can take back cities and reduce criminal behavior if we want. Allowing criminals to run rampant through our cities is a choice.