I was talking to another blogger and we concluded that it is just so difficult to know where to begin to address these issues and how they are inter-related and it quickly gets overwhelming, so please forgive me, in advance, if this post goes in a few different directions.
TRANSIENTS & BEGGARS, MURDER & HOME ENTRIES
Wow! This conversation spiraled out of control. A few unthoughtful comments by one police officer and perhaps some unfortunately editing of a story and suddenly the homeless are murderers in the minds of many in the community. It wasn’t helped by the inflammatory rhetoric a certain right-wing blogger/conservative political operative and on am radio. I have to say, the mob mentality to jump on board and fall for the stereotyping, the profiling and finger-pointing is disappointing and somewhat scary. What blows my mind is the continued misrepresentations by either thoughtless, mean-spirited or politically motivated editing. Check this out . . . .
While investigators have not identified a suspect or a motive in the death of Brittany Zimmermann, police say they have arrested “a couple of dozen of people, ” most of them transients who frequent the Bassett neighborhood, on warrants and probation holds, as well as for trespassing, menacing, panhandling and having open intoxicants, in the course of the homicide investigation.
Among those arrested was a man who walked into a home in the 500 block of West Washington Avenue shared by several UW-Madison students just before Zimmermann ‘s body was found two blocks away, police said.
It’s just irresponsible to continue to talk about “transients” and the man arrested for begging door to door in nearly the same breath, as we know that the person who was begging door to door was not a transient. The man was a tenant of Cliff Fisher and lived within a few blocks of my house.
Additionally, the police still have no suspects, have said that they are not concentrating on any one population and at least in the case of the Marino murder, have said that they have no reason to believe it was someone who was homeless. Instead, it was someone who “has connections” to State Street because they bought a likely very expensive backpack there. I’m guessing not too many homeless do their shopping there.
PHOTOS? & SYSTEMIC DNA TESTING BASED ON PROFILING?
So, homeless are being arrested in larger than usual numbers and all being DNA testing? If the “transients” are not arrested, apparently they are being photographed by the police department. This has prompted a few community members to ask me several questions. The first email this morning was as follows:
Hi Brenda:
I just heard a report on WPR this morning that “a couple dozen transients” were arrested and subjected to DNA testing in connection with the Brittany Zimmerman murder. Have you heard about this? It doesn’t sound like a targeted investigation, more like a broad sweep of the homeless and DNA testing without probable cause. If witnesses had reported that Brittany Zimmerman’s murderer was a black man, would the police have the right to subject all black men in Madison to DNA testing?
More bad reporting? Or did this listener hear this correctly?
A second person asked this questions in a meeting yesterday:
If someone was murdered in my condo building, would my neighbors think it was ok for the police to be running around photographing everyone who lives there?
It’s been a long time since law school (14 years) but I’m pretty sure if these reports are correct, we have a problem here with possible civil liberties violations and a whole new profiling concern. And before you are tempted to jump on the fear bandwagon and defend the police, think about that Benjamin Franklin quote “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Radical, I know.
The snarky/weary among us are wondering when we will need to start carrying our “income identification cards”.
BRITTINGHAM PARK
In the middle of all of this fear mongering and attempts to take various issues and draw connections that simply aren’t there, sometime around noon yesterday the Mayor’s office revealed the “plan” for Brittingham Park. The “plan” includes the following:
- Cameras. Install wi-fi cameras in and around the park to enhance surveillance and improve deterrence.
- Lighting. Improve and install lighting as necessary throughout the park.
- Park Shelter. Consider modifications to the existing park shelter structure to improve general usability and decrease the likelihood of problematic behaviors.
- Amenities & Environmental Design. Prevent the use of the electrical outlets in the park shelter except during a reserved use. Explore changes to the environmental design of the park (landscaping, children’s play equipment, etc.) to enhance the legitimate use of the park.
- Outreach and Social Services. Utilize data collection and analysis to identify individuals with a pattern of police contact. Use this list as a jumping off point for outreach workers and social service providers. Help coordinate available resources with individuals in need. Sample resources include: AODA treatment, mental health treatment, employment counseling, housing counseling, financial education; general medical services; etc.
- Police. Increase police presence through routine and directed patrols. Maintain high visibility and continue to enforce applicable laws, including the prohibition on the possession or consumption of alcohol. Utilize problem-solving techniques through the South District Community Policing Team to address issues at the park.
- Investment in transitional and permanent housing. Continue the investment, primarily through our CDBG Office, in housing and homelessness prevention. In 2007 the City spent $425,000 on the capital costs for housing and homelessness prevention and $390,000 on related programming and services. This investment funded the creation of eight new housing units and major repairs to two shelter facilities.
- Park Rangers. Utilize the additional Park Ranger resources in the 2008 budget in an effort to increase the legitimate use of Brittingham Park. Work in cooperation with service providers to appropriately train the Park Rangers before their deployment. Ensure that the Park Rangers have access to a clearinghouse of resources to address the needs of individuals they may contact.
- Alcohol Retailers. Continue to work with alcohol retailers in the vicinity of the park to find effective means of employing best practices for alcohol licensees, including limiting access to individuals who habitually misuse or abuse alcohol.
- Employment Training & Transportation. Work with employment service providers to coordinate access and transportation to training opportunities, short-term jobs, and permanent employment.
- Vendors. Explore the presence of vendors in Brittingham Park.
- Park Ban. Explore the creation of a “Park Ban” list for chronic offenders, similar to the State Street Ban that has proven so effective over time.
- Prosecution Initiatives. Explore the use of prosecutorial tools like deferred prosecution agreements, hold-opens, and/or abeyances with regard to specific violations in and around Brittingham Park.
- Partnership. Continue to work in partnership with advocacy groups, service providers, law enforcement, neighbors and other government agencies. Implement effective and efficient means to address homelessness, social service needs, and problematic behavior in a comprehensive effort to improve the quality of life in Brittingham Park and throughout our community.
I wasn’t able to attend the Park Commission meeting this evening – triple booked – but at least one poverty solutions advocate showed up and told me he had the following to say:
- While the plan said to INCREASE police presence, it only mentioned better coordination for outreach, and continuing efforts on affordable housing.
- There were three points of the plan I stressed. 1. Outreach; 2. Affordable housing (I talked housing trust fund); and 3. Bus tickets (Transit for Jobs). I pointed out that all 3 were proposed to the mayor last year, and he said no to all three, and also all 3 were rejected as council amendments.
I might also add that during the budget the Parks Department said that the Parks Rangers were not trained to deal with the homeless and therefore they were not appropriate to deal with the homeless issues in Brittingham Park.
My reaction to the plan was – We don’t have enough resources! Simply coordinating them better isn’t going to do anything. The Homeless Services Consortium is about as coordinated as it can get. The police have more resources, but without more AODA and housing resources, how is this going to happen?
Before we leave this topic, I’d like to thank Alders Kerr and Verveer for their comments and once again, question why the WSJ continues to try to link transients, homeless and murder. Check out this editing:
The plan comes at a time when Madison police are questioning transients as part of their investigation into last week’s slaying of 21-year-old UW-Madison student Brittany Zimmermann and two months after the fatal stabbing of Joel Marino, 31, on West Shore Drive. The killings brought increased attention to problems in the Brittingham Park area.
Both Ald. Julia Kerr, whose 13th District includes Brittingham, and Ald. Mike Verveer, whose 4th District includes the West Doty Street apartment where Zimmermann was killed, were adamant that the park plan and the killings are not connected.
“This has been a long, ongoing process,” she said of work started six or seven months ago to develop the strategy. “To link them is totally erroneous.”
Kerr said multiple cameras are expected to provide a view of the entire park and would be concentrated around the shelter, as would new lighting.
While treating problems associated with homelessness is a part of the plan — Kerr said advocates for that population were consulted in its development — both she and Agard said the homeless are not entirely to blame.
Brittingham is “just a magnet for a whole bunch of different folks,” she said, without elaborating. Agard said most homeless people do not cause problems, and those making the catcalls and looking for unlocked doors are “a very small percentage of the population that frequents the park.”
Finally, I have to say, I’m disappointed, but not surprised, the Parks Commission passed the plan last night given that it wasn’t available to the public until yesterday and so the public didn’t really get to comment on it. What happened to our values that a public and transparent process led to better, more informed results in our community?
OUR CADILLAC SERVICES & “THE VAGRANTS”?
Now, on to Mr. Blaska.
Mr. Blaska, I know you read my blog, so I issue a challenge to you. Drop the rhetoric and show me the facts. Get serious and drop the inflammatory and ridiculous faux-solutions.
What programs are “keeping people dependent on the system”? The shelters all have limits on the number of days you can stay there in a year. Where are all these overflowing services that are just lavished on the people who are homeless? Which programs do you consider to be frivolous handouts? How many of the homeless just don’t like working and would rather spend their nights in the freezing Wisconsin weather (1%, 10%, 80%)? Which of our programs and policies would you repeal or remove to fix your claim that “what we are doing with the homeless attracts and supports a lifestyle that is sometimes criminal and usually anti-societal.” I assume this was a list of solution made with tongue firmly planted in cheek. That’s nice, you made your point and got attention, but lets be serious. This is a serious issue. Take a serious look at the programs you love to rail on give us some serious recommendations based on real facts. Oh, nevermind, we know you’re just trying to score political points and won’t do the work to help solve the problems we have in this community.
Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this thought. One of my colleagues, who is not one of us progressives, not a member of Progressive Dane, not even one of the liberals who frequently votes with Progressive Dane alders, not even endorsed by the Democrats, sent me an email that simply said:
Herman Melville once said:
“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.”
PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY
Press Advisory
April 9, 2008
For more information, contact:
Greta Hansen
608-246-4730 ext. 217There will be a press conference on Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 12:00 noon at Community Action Coalition, 1717 N. Stoughton Rd. (between Ancora Coffee Roasters and Zimbrick). Speakers will address current myths about the poor and homeless in our community.
Sponsoring Organizations:
Community Action Coalition of South Central Wisconsin
Madison-area Urban Ministry
Homeless Services Consortium of Dane County
Tenant Advocacy Group
Affordable Housing Action Alliance
Tenant Resource Center
Housing Initiatives
Porchlight
YWCA
FACTS & SOLUTIONS
If you want some facts about the homeless in our community, the 2006 Annual Report on the Homeless is a good place to start. If you’re looking for solutions, here’s a plan by the community to end homelessness. Problem is, it takes money and a commitment that I don’t believe that we have here in Madison.
MAYOR’S HOUSING DISPERSION PLAN
Will have to wait for comment for another day . . . but I haven’t forgotten about it. Expect a post either tomorrow or next week.
