Statistics don’t lie. But they can be twisted. Welcome to the City of Pittsburgh.
As public pressure increased on city officials to crack down on the lawlessness in the city – particularly in the Golden Triangle and on the South Side – a not-so-funny thing emerged from elected officials and even some media observers.
They contended that crime was either a figment of the public’s (and media’s) imagination – a perception not supported by reality – or that, hey, by golly, crime wasn’t rising but falling.
Indeed, as the Post-Gazette reports it:
“The latest data from the city’s Department of Public Safety shows major crimes — such as homicide, robbery and theft — have dropped by 4 percent across Pittsburgh in the first seven months of 2023, compared to the same period last year.
“But recent spates of violence in some of the city’s most vibrant areas have sowed continued mistrust among residents and business owners — including skepticism toward the city’s own figures.”
And as one long-time business owner who has pulled up stakes Downtown after more than half a century put it:
“You can say we’re down 10 percent: Oh, well, don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back. Take a walk down the street.”
The simple fact of the matter is, as a P-G analysis shows, that downtown Pittsburgh and the South Side have remained epicenters of “shootings and other violence so far this year.”
“More than a fifth of major crimes in the city through July — including almost a third of all robberies — took place in police Zone 2, which includes Downtown, and a quarter of homicides — mostly shootings — happened in Zone 3, which includes the South Side.”
Which makes it pretty difficult to buff up the image of either neighborhood. Ahem.
All this said, and to be fair, police have begun to take steps to rein in the lawlessness. But whether it’s too little too late remains to be seen.
Why did it take government officials so long to act?
Contrary to too many narratives, the lawlessness was not a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. If that’s an excuse at all, it’s a flimsy one. No, this anything-goes climate began to be fostered years before – and before the current mayoral administration — by a hands-off approach to law-breaking.
Consider it a metaphor writ large for the rot that is “progressivism.” And it has absolutely no place in the prosecution of sound public policy.
Colin McNickle is communications and marketing director at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
