Final Blog? Crime!!

Was anyone else not able to see all of the video or was it just my computer?

Crime in poorer neighborhoods is getting ridiculous. It’s sad that even then crime was just as bad as it is now. One of the most shocking things on the video was when the study results were read saying that out of the children 10 to 19 years old that they surveyed, 3 out of 4 of them witnessed a major crime and one out of four had seen someone killed.  To hear of someone’s life ending is one thing but to witness it? And a child to witness it, is something I cannot imagine. As discussed in the video, different approaches have been taken to stop crime among the younger generation. A good example was the “mad dads” who go around late at night when most crime seems to occur, and talk to kids who are outside lingering and setting themselves up for criminal behavior or are exposed to being victims of crimes. There should be more groups like this that watch over the neighborhoods, especially in poorer neighborhoods. However it seems that even adults are afraid now days to do something. Another way that crime is being handled is by involving the church. The lack of religion and faith could be one of the reasons for criminal behavior. Not only does it act as your “conscience” but it also keeps kids out of the streets a few times a week. Pastors can be mentors because even though they have a higher connection supposedly with God they still are men and women who work hard and have similar problems or have had similar problems growing up. In the 90s as put in the slides, there was more aggressive policing, which I think also contributes to preventing crime. Knowing that a police officer is in the area that is good with making arrests is enough to stop most people. Our police force today should be more like the police force in the 90s and really enforce more aggressive policing. It seems police officers today seem to be more relaxed and slow to respond to calls. Or maybe that is just in my neighborhood? (ha ha) Anyways, there should be more funds going towards the safety of our nation. More police officers doing their job means a lot less people on the street because they know that the fear is there and getting caught is definite. Neighborhoods with extreme violence especially should be watched more and given programs that help keep children as well as adults off of the streets late at night. Proposals like SB 1474 do nothing but promote the unnecessary violence among youth and adults. As discussed in another class, guns on campus are like searching for a specific piece of hay in a haystack. Should a major crime occur such as a shooting, how would we know who was the bad guy if everyone looked like the bad guy? If you all have guns, there is no way to determine the shooter. And should a person threaten students, friendly fire is sure to happen. And to multiple people. This only teaches children that when you get older, and you THINK you need a gun, it’s okay to get it and bring it with you everywhere. What is the point in waiting? That is what kids are going to start to think. As for SB 1070, immigrants in my opinion do not do enough in a negative way to influence the way that crime has been over the past few years. Drugs, guns, and all that have been prevalent in the U.S. forever. Their presence though might increase police presence which might be the best thing about it.

Economic Development Director

Tough week..
I will be an economic development director for the city of Anchorage, Alaska. Alaska is a beautiful state that is underestimated because of the stereotype associated with the weather. Yes, Alaska is cold, but it offers a wide variety of activities that will keep you warm. On top of that, Alaska's economy has managed to remain stable over the time of the economic crisis. Its main imports and exports include natural gas, raw minerals and fresh seafood (yum).  Even though it is heavily reliant on oil, Alaska's unemployment rate has reached an all time low at 7.3%. The economy is still growing. The port of Anchorage is the main place where importing and exporting takes place, which in turn helps to bring in over $700 million in revenue.
Anchorage is home to over 600,000 residents, and being very far from industrial areas, it is a popular tourist site. This is especially good for businesses looking for new clients. Tourists come for the Native history as well as the breathtaking mountain views.
I would propose more popular culture attractions like sports and modern art to accommodate the interests of employees and increase tourism.
I would apply for the Hope VI program if I felt that my city needed it, or fell through due to the unstable oil market. It is a good idea to get citizens the help they need in times of crisis.

Education!!

From the videos, it can be seen that children are declining due to the poor quality of the schools. For example, Alaine Leroy Locke High School in  Los Angelos has had 40,000 children out of 60,000 who have attended in the past 40 years drop out. Now what does that say about their education system? Or even the way that they value education? There is no way that 800 students should drop from going ONE grade to another. And if this has been going on for 40 years, then there is a serious problem. The idea of local control I believe can be the thing that saves education. From discussions, It was said that local control will enable the staff to be at its best. The staff will be known by most of the community, which includes their advantages and disadvantages. The videos in my opinion touch on the solution but don’t go into enough detail about it. The problem lies with the educators, and how they teach. The boy documented in the clips showed improvement with a better teacher. George W. Bush tried changed the world of education when he created the No Child Left Behind Act. This still is in effect today. I think as seen in the slides that a centralized education system could benefit in a great way. The government should be involved in some areas as much as possible. The pressure that would be emitted would maybe cause educators to focus more on their material and do better with test scores. The government should interfere in areas like math and reading that are flatlining in improvement and also with the hiring of teachers in these schools. Changing paradigms can be radical changes that ultimately will solve problems dealing with family support, financial problems etc. How we view the education of a child must change and their ideas as they grow up must change.

If I were to move where would i go? Well me and my husband..

A little late..but here goes nothing?
Unfortunately moving is a part of life. There are new places, new people and new sights to see. The way we chose our new home in Seattle involved two key factors. The first was the property value of the home and the affect of the surrounding areas on the property value. The first location we initially looked at was surrounded by abandoned places and desolate areas. Sure the house was decent but come on..If we dared to move from that house we could kiss our investment good bye. So the next house was in a place that was in the boonies. The area was serene and lush but there was hardly a yard due to the excessive amounts of trees. Selling this one would be a little harder due to the location and surrounding environment so we scratched that quickly. The third, and area that we finally chose, was in a rural neighborhood with historical buildings, a decent sized yard and was in a convenient location to get to local shops, grocery stores and places for entertainment. Being an art buff, the culture lured me in. The recent tween obsession had also brought a ton of families out for tourism and living, so many people we encountered were also new to the area. The perks of the area had raised the property value  much higher and in turn was the best investment for our future new home.

The second set of factors was the statistics that one must consider when going anywhere. These include crime, pollution, traffic control, educational facilities..etc. The house we decided on in Seattle was in a fairly safe neighborhood. Being Seattle, the crime rate was a little higher than what we wanted but the area that we chose had a great neighborhood watch program and the local police force were patrolling every five seconds. The surrounding homes are all fairly new, with few that require an extensive amount of repair. Even though we are childless, future education costs and taxes played a part in our decision making. The tax was at a decent enough level to where there was no great surprise when it came down to important payments. All in all the area was fairly good. The surroundings, neighborhood and facilities made for a smart move on our part.

lets get down to urban policy! second part of assignment, catagorizing policies

During class the reviewed several things regarding policies such as the purpose of policies, descriptions of policies, types of policies etc. Although due to my lack of basic knowledge on policies, It was a little difficult to follow along with the vernacular involved. However, towards the end of class I began to see the bigger picture, and most of it was due to the discussions and arguments between peers.( I don't know about you but I found that entertaining) Anyways, the topic about policies that resonated with me the most was the way we classify policies. I did not realize there were so many categories and subcategories used to classify and describe policies. I knew of the self-regulatory and regulatory categories faintly. Many know that doctors, lawyers and other professionals are forced to obey rules and regulations that are enforced by the state regardless of their personal preferences. The reading talks about the typologies that were created to organize and sort the numerous amounts of laws and policies made. It goes into detail regarding the basic categories of policies which are substantive and procedural policies.

introduction!

Hello all,
My name is Breeana Canada and I am currently a freshman here at ASU. I am originally from Michigan. My major is Criminal Justice and Criminology, and I am completing this course as an elective. I'm a little nervous about the intensity of the class but im sure everything will be fine. I chose ASU because of its academics and location. I look forward to getting to know more people in class and hope that everyone has a great day!