Here is Scioto County we
have a problem that must be addressed. With substance abuse spiraling
out of control, some people enable the actual misconduct. That is,
they shield repeat offenders from experiencing the full impact and
consequences of their behavior. Enabling someone is different from
helping and supporting in that it allows the enabled person to be
irresponsible. People must stop enabling criminal behavior.
People who harbor, house,
and knowingly fraternize with the criminal element are complicit in
the crimes the offenders commit. They permit those who do drugs and
commit criminal acts to sustain their unlawful activities by either
becoming directly involved with the offenders or remaining
indifferent when they realize the offenders are still breaking the
law.
Some of these criminals do
crime after crime when they should be rehabilitating themselves. They
become comfortably supported by those who should be disassociating
themselves from such behavior, but, who instead, choose to view
criminal conduct as “what addicts do.”
Criminal facilitation
statutes make it a crime to "provide" a person with "means
or opportunity" to commit crimes. These people are accessories
to the principal, the person who is primarily responsible for the
crime. These “inchoate” crimes, also known as incomplete crimes,
are acts that constitute indirect participation in a crime, but
participation nonetheless.
When an enabling culture
develops in a community, problems get worse, not better. For example,
if a person struggling with addiction exhibits bad or criminal
behavior, friends and relatives who simply ignore it withdraw from
their basic social obligations. The people who aid offenders do not
care that they introduce illegal behaviors into a peaceful
neighborhood. Showing no concern for the welfare of others, they
become shields for people perpetrating offense after offense.
In Scioto County such
“shields” flourish as hopelessness and despair take over. Good
people in communities can become so depressed that they eventually
believe law enforcement and the court system include those who permit
criminal behavior and allow it to flourish. The public loses
confidence in the very system that is there to protect them, and many
give up on being responsible citizens.
When people hide the fact
that a person they befriend is repeatedly offending, those people
ignore the rationality of their moral duty. It becomes more rational
for the friends to avoid any conflict with the offender, and instead
protect his bad behavior. This erodes the criminal justice system.
Ethics are the very foundation of the system. They're what helped
society develop moral reasoning, define criminal activity, and deem
acceptable punishment. Aiding and abetting a criminal is immoral.
This lack of moral duty
may be because they are afraid of the offender or because they’re
afraid of losing their friendship with him. It may even be a
deeper-rooted issue, but it’s never helpful in quelling a person's
bad behavior. The enabling allows continuation of abuse and escalates
further criminal behaviors.
In Scioto County, a
culture of enabling breeds both health problems and criminal
activity.
Every year, Scioto County
ranks at or near the bottom of the 88 counties in the state in health
outcomes and health factors. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and
the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute in Madison
released their 2020 County Health Rankings March 18, 2020, and found
Scioto County was “the unhealthiest county in Ohio.” Scioto
County also has one of the highest overdose death rates in the state.
And, people here are greatly at risk of outbreaks of HIV and/or
hepatitis C.
The 2018 crime rate in
Portsmouth, OH is 429 (City-Data.com crime index), which is 1.6 times
higher than the U.S. average. It was higher than in 92.7% U.S.
cities. And, the 2018 Portsmouth crime rate fell by 19% compared to
2017. In the last 5 years Portsmouth has seen increasing violent
crime and decreasing property crime New Boston's overall crime rate
is a staggering 832.6. Scioto County property crime is 69.1. (The
U.S. average is 35.4).
The Alliance for Safety
and Justice reports Scioto County has the 12th highest prison
admissions rate for drug possession (71 percent higher than the
statewide average) Scioto County sends 14.6 percent of people on
supervision back to prison for technical violations, well above the
state average of 9.5 percent.
(https://allianceforsafetyandjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/OH-data_Final.pdf
)
Rushing
in to rescue repeat offenders may satisfy some personal desire people
have to feel "needed" or “to do good,” but it doesn't
really help the situation. It only enables the offenders to avoid the
consequences of their actions. In Al-Anon, they call it "putting
pillows under them" so that they never feel the pain of their
mistakes.
An unprecedented number of
individuals return home from prison each year. The sheer volume
carries enormous public safety implications for communities and
neighborhoods when these prisoners released are ill-equipped to
succeed and poorly supported during and after their transition home.
But, how about those with no intentions of being reformed or being
rehabilitated? In a depressed and unhealthy county these offenders
feed off the misery and continue the cycle of abuse. Simply put, they
use the system.
I am firmly convinced the
only solution to breaking this vicious cycle is for each individual
to stand up against every injustice perpetrated by repeat offenders.
Now there is simply too much indifference. It really appears social
classes help form a county conscience that “writes off” some
places and initials them as areas where crime can flourish … just
as long as criminals don't take residence near their beautiful homes.
Not only must people stand
up against these offenders, but also they must oppose those shielding
the criminal behavior of others. What may look like empathy can be
complicity. People in Scioto County should demand full transparency
and work to change a crippled rehabilitation system that cares more
about giving break after break after break to offenders than
protecting good people from their bad behavior. Rehab – drug and
criminal – is essential; however, no rehab will change an addict or
a career criminal bent on using the system to his advantage.
Lies, deceit, coverup, and
indifference – these activities create a breeding ground for crime
that perpetuates itself. In 2020, Scioto County may no longer be the
epicenter for the pill mills, but it remains mired in an ugly drug
culture. It is up to every person to change this. Too much passing
the buck stifles improvement.
I believe no person in the
county has to tolerate threats to his or her life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. People must oppose these threats at every turn.
They must push, lobby, call, and write their enforcement and court
officials and demand they be the best public servants they can be …
and to charge them to insure that they must always protect good,
innocent people when an offender strikes.
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