Policing Should Not Be A Political Issue

Crime is a complicated topic, but there is an extremely simple rule that must be observed before one can begin to fight it effectively: One must genuinely wish to deal with the problem. Without such an elementary ambition, no amount of legislation, activity, taxpayer money or speechmaking will make the slightest bit of difference.

Violent crime, meanwhile, should never be used as an excuse to take away the rights of law-abiding Americans. Doing that isn't just lying; it also creates perverse incentives. The far Left has behaved as if criminal mayhem—violent crimes with real victims—is useful for their anti-gun propaganda.

Law-enforcement officials are supposed to have one goal: to catch and prosecute criminals. This can be a tough job, but, as we have learned in places such as New York City during the 1990s, and more recently in Washington, D.C., it all begins with the desire to make a tangible difference, rather than to grandstand or to distract or to score partisan or ideological points on TV.

To many people in America—perhaps, indeed, to most people in America—this is all rather obvious. Unfortunately, those people tend not to be the ones who are running our major cities. …