Paper Bag
Weekends are reserved for marathon sessions of ``The Wire,’’ with my friends - we have been fanatics of this TV Drama for years now.
Rather than see me go all fangirly here, I thought you guys might find it more fun to ponder over an interesting question, from its third season:
Have you noticed that in large cities, illegal activities tend to be concentrated in well known areas? For example, the following locations in a city may be common knowledge: its red-light district, markets for pirated media/electronics, drug havens etc.
Why do cops not take action?
There are several reasons, but an interesting view is to think of it as a compromise between cops and law-breakers; one which society does not acknowledge openly. It may sound perverse, but there are good reasons to keep this ``hypocrisy’’ going. That is because:
Another side-effect is that social workers can do their jobs more effectively. For example, the the task of condom distribution/safe-sex education for sex workers, clean needles/drug rehabilitation programs for dope fiends etc. would be extremely difficult if you could not find at-risk folks easily.
While it does not claim to have answers, ``The Wire’’ analyzes this issue, from the standpoint of America’s ``War on Drugs,'' policy. And it does so with depth and sensitivity.
Anyway, here is a clip from the show, if you are interested.
[Background: The speaker is Major Colvin, the commander of Baltimore’s Western District. Over the years, official policy has forced his men to go after drug dealers on street corners - leaving few to police murders, rapes, robberies etc. Faced with the prospect of losing his district to crime, he tries to save it, by creating a designated zone for drug peddling.
After one of his officers, Dozerman, gets shot during a drug bust, he calls a meeting of his men and introduces the idea.]
Rather than see me go all fangirly here, I thought you guys might find it more fun to ponder over an interesting question, from its third season:
Have you noticed that in large cities, illegal activities tend to be concentrated in well known areas? For example, the following locations in a city may be common knowledge: its red-light district, markets for pirated media/electronics, drug havens etc.
Why do cops not take action?
There are several reasons, but an interesting view is to think of it as a compromise between cops and law-breakers; one which society does not acknowledge openly. It may sound perverse, but there are good reasons to keep this ``hypocrisy’’ going. That is because:
- it reduces crime;
- it helps at-risk people better.
Another side-effect is that social workers can do their jobs more effectively. For example, the the task of condom distribution/safe-sex education for sex workers, clean needles/drug rehabilitation programs for dope fiends etc. would be extremely difficult if you could not find at-risk folks easily.
While it does not claim to have answers, ``The Wire’’ analyzes this issue, from the standpoint of America’s ``War on Drugs,'' policy. And it does so with depth and sensitivity.
Anyway, here is a clip from the show, if you are interested.
[Background: The speaker is Major Colvin, the commander of Baltimore’s Western District. Over the years, official policy has forced his men to go after drug dealers on street corners - leaving few to police murders, rapes, robberies etc. Faced with the prospect of losing his district to crime, he tries to save it, by creating a designated zone for drug peddling.
After one of his officers, Dozerman, gets shot during a drug bust, he calls a meeting of his men and introduces the idea.]
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