How Women Will Strengthen Policing
And why we must
Though this may anger or confuse some people, the truth is I’m not oppressed. In fact, I feel blessed to live in a country where opportunities are bountiful if you put in the work (mostly), and where real strides for women have been made in a relatively short span of time.
I also don’t see men (as a group) as the enemy. They’re individuals with varying levels of character and intentions. Just like you’d expect to see in any collective of women.
This is not to say that we’re a perfect nation, or that some women aren’t suffering (in fact, I’ll get to that point in a bit), or that there aren’t men who want to hurt women. It’s just that when I think of genuine oppression, my mind wanders to the plight of women like the Uighurs or those under the reign of the Taliban - not to women living in the United States.
As a Group, Men Are Not the Enemy
There are indeed men who disrespect women and who prey on us. Most women I know -including this one- have encountered men like this. The stories we can tell would make you blush.
It doesn’t make us victims, though. What it means is that there are some bad men out there - just as there are amongst any identifiable group, including women.
In my mind, recent national discourse surrounding women’s rights has not only hindered women, but it’s had disastrous effects on men and boys.
Consider this from a recent article in National Review.
“In the world of education, boys have fallen behind their female classmates: Six percent more girls graduate high school than boys. Two-thirds of students in the top 10 percent of their high-school class are girls, while two-thirds of the bottom 10 percent are boys. Fifteen percent more women graduate college than men. Women also earn more master’s degrees,MDs, and JDs.
Men’s labor-force-participation rate has decreased starkly in recent decades: It was 97 percent in 1960; today, it’s 87 percent. Most men who are not in the workforce report bad health as their reason for not working. Forty-four percent of men who aren’t working are taking painkillers. Men’s real wages have declined 14 percent since 1979.
Sharp increases in suicide rates among male adolescents are alarming. As the CDC reports, a man in the U.S. takes his life every 13.7 seconds. Young men are four times more likely to commit suicide than their female counterparts. Likely related, today, 15 percent of men say they have no close friendships at all. This represents a fivefold increase since 1990.”
How does disparaging an entire category of Americans help women or propel us as a nation?
Focusing on the Wrong Things
Know what’s on my mind as a woman? Crime. Since 2020, I’ve have to think twice about hopping a plane to NYC or driving to Chicago for fear of becoming a crime statistic. These are things that I once did freely.
The truth is that most men are stronger than most women. Though I’m adept at situational awareness and self defense, these skills are no match for a man intent on doing me harm. It’s a fact of life.
This is not true freedom as guaranteed in the Constitution. And it’s largely happening for two reasons: The ongoing war on cops and the propensity for some politicians, district attorneys, and judges to prioritize the needs of perpetrators over that of the law-abiding.
Police departments are understaffed, which means there’s little time for much else than patrol work (the basics). The type of problem-solving and preventative work associated with proactive policing takes a back seat. And there are fewer resources available to investigate crimes, including those in which women are prime victims - like human trafficking, domestic violence, and rapes.
A few troubling case studies that demonstrate how women are harmed by the fallout from the war on cops:
Seattle
Due to a critical staffing shortage, the Seattle Police Department has had to halt the investigation of new sexual assaults.
As The Seattle Times reported,
“In the memo, {Sgt. Pamela} St. John went on to say that she was not ‘able to assign adult sexual assault cases’ that came into her unit. Cases involving children and adult cases that had a suspect in custody — a fraction of adult sexual assaults reported to police — were being prioritized. The unit just had too few detectives.”
New York City
About 60% of rapes were unsolved by NYPD in 2020, which Gothamist reported is
“the highest rate of unclosed rape cases since the department began publicly releasing that data in 2018. The decline in arrests took place even as the number of reported rapes dropped from 1,794 in 2018 to 1,427 in 2020.”
Los Angeles
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Los Angeles Police Department lost more than 650 officers when compared to pre-pandemic staffing levels. Aside from closing its animal cruelty unit, it’s had to downsize its human trafficking -as well as narcotics and homeless outreach- teams by 80%.
Chicago
After analyzing records from the Chicago Police Department, Wirepoints discovered that there were no police officers available to respond to 52 percent of the 788,000 high-priority 911 service calls dispatched in 2021.
Per Wirepoints,
“High priority calls include Priority Level 1 incidents, which represent “an imminent threat to life, bodily injury, or major property damage/loss,” and Priority Level 2 incidents when “timely police action…has the potential to affect the outcome of an incident.”
This means that shots-fired, assaults in progress, and domestic batteries are largely not being addressed.
Women Can Help Change This Trajectory
Some of the same women who claim we’re oppressed are often silent about how the war on police and decriminalization of crime has impacted us.
Where’s the outrage and the demonstrations as innocent women are being brutalized and having their lives upended - all because violent perpetrators are given carte blanche and crime fighters have become synonymous with “oppressors” in some circles? Certainly, violent crimes against women are more heinous, than say Dean Martin or Michael Buble belting out the innocuous lyrics of “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”
This, dear reader, is about to change.
I belong to an organization of thousands of independent-minded women who’ve been supportive of my efforts to involve women in police & public safety advocacy. Yesterday I had a productive meeting with a staffer that I’d like to tell you a little about.
To start, we’re creating an educational video that will serve as a template for our chapters throughout the country. My intention is that this will educate and inspire women to take action – whether via writing op-eds, lobbying their elected officials, signing petitions, or supporting police in their own communities.
Additionally, we’re dedicating an upcoming chapter meeting on public safety where the president of the local FOP will be in attendance.
It’s a fantastic beginning, and I’m thrilled to have the company. Though advocating for police officers benefits women, I do this because it’s important to all of us, and critical to the health of our nation.
For the Blue is a solutions-based initiative. I’m just an American patriot asking questions. I don’t work with any political party and I answer to nobody. For me, the health of the nation, due process (including for police officers), the rule of law, and respect for individual liberties, will always transcend party affiliation. I welcome your thoughts, even if you disagree; though personal attacks will be ignored. You can reach me at fortheblue@substack.com.
Great article. I want to hear more soon about this new initiative!