It should be about trimming the criminal code to get rid of crimes that should not be crimes (either totally legal - e.g. adult sex work or just infractions - e.g. most moving violations). That way police and the courts can focus on the actual bad guys.
Interesting comment about decriminalizing adult sex work and most moving violations.
I quoted part of my previous post because you are trying to conflate these two issues even though I made a point to keep them very much separate. Adult sex work should be fully legal, as should things like weed. There is a good reason to enforce traffic laws however. But I do not think most moving violations - excluding things like DUIs or reckless driving - should be a criminal offense (in GA they are misdemeanors, punishable with up to 12 months in county if you decide to fight your ticket) but rather infractions. That does not mean people should not be stopped and ticketed for traffic violations though.
I believe you were one of the persons adamant that the officers in the Duante Wright shooting were absolutely 100% justified in pulling him over despite Minneapolis having in place a policy to not pull over drivers for expired vehicle registrations due to COVID.
We already went over this. If he only had an expired tag he would have probably been sent on his way with a warning and no ticket.
But he had an active warrant. So they had to arrest him. That's a good side effect of traffic stops. Best way to reduce gun crime is to go after gun criminals.
This is also why new policies in many cities to not even stop people for traffic violations is stupid. You do not only making driving more dangerous by not ticketing those who violate traffic laws (including people driving with no license or insurance), but are also making it easier for people with active warrants to avoid arrest.
That aside, relatively few moving violations end up in court.
No kidding! Unless you plead guilty and pay the fine you face jail time. Even for things like speeding. So few people fight them.
As far as 'focussing on the actual bad guys:' Almost all arrests and trials involve substance abuse or are substance abuse adjacent, from alcohol to whatever the kids are doing these days in some way, shape or form, including most assaults, break ins, thefts, etc.
[citation needed] on "almost all". You brought up St. Daunte aka "Prince of Brooklyn Center". He robbed a woman at gunpoint. He might have shot and paralyzed a man. Bad guy.
If we really are serious about unclogging the court system, we should decriminalize pot, at least, and invest a great deal more money into substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment. And we should also do more restorative justice. And we should really pay public defenders more. Our social safety network is very frayed and stretched way too thin.
I agree on all of these except "restorative justice". Too kumbaya.
And since we are on a roll, we really need to tackle the proliferation of assault weapons and the mythology that surrounds carrying weapons, concealed or not.
So-called assault weapons are not the major driver of gun crime. Instead of another ill-conceived "assault weapons ban" written by people who don't know what
barrel shrouds are and
think AR-15s shoot .50 cal bullets, we need to make sure gun criminals are held accountable.
As far as actual gun control, we need to close background check loopholes. I would also be in favor of things like gun registration and mandatory liability insurance. But mindless banning of certain weapons that are not a major problem solely because what they look like is not the way to go.
And we should absolutely stop equipping our police departments as though they are militia occupying a hostile territory.
What particular piece of equipment do you begrudge them? Riot shields? Bearcats?