In the 80s black community leaders went to their political representatives w/ the problem of crime in their neighborhoods (drugs, theft, violence). The politicians responded to the need w/ greater police presence & tougher sentencing, all w/ the approval of community leaders.

Now these policies worked. Crime, particularly violent crime, declined significantly, as did the death rate among young black men. However, there were two or three repercussions that (as far as I know) no one seemed to anticipate or appreciate.

1) Tougher sentencing for typical inner-city crimes resulted in far more young black men incarcerated for much longer sentences. 2) Greater police presence in communities meant more opportunities to be ticketed for violations.

Having done some inner-city mission work (only assisting those who live & serve there), I was initially surprised at the amount of police present & patrolling. Those who I helped said it was the norm. I've received more traffic tickets in the inner-city than anywhere else.

Some of these traffic violations are the result of greater police presence & some of it is the result of the "broken windows" strategy of crime prevention. The strategy does work but it has repercussions.

3) This closely follows the previous repercussion. Greater police presence meant meant greater opportunities for violent confrontations w/ police.

I mention all this to point out what black community leaders told me & what others studied: Current problems weren't the result of explicit institutional racism as much as the unintended consequences of policies that, w/ the approval of black leaders, actually solved a problem.

The question now is how the politicians & community leaders can keep the communities safe while limiting incarcerations & opportunities of government violence.