NPR: A Police Checkpoint OR a Police State?

A Police Checkpoint OR a Police State?

When is a local story not a local story, or not JUST a local story?

Your opinion is as good as ours but we felt that this issue of what to do about spiking crime especially homicide is one that many cities are struggling with. So when we saw that DC and police officials were trying something new we felt others would want to know what it was all about. It's a story about the police checkpoints in DC. They went up this weekend in a neighborhood called Trinidad. The DC councilman who represents the area, Harry Thomas Jr., was our guest today and told us there have been some 22 homicides there in a matter of months; there were seven in the city the weekend before last and three of them in Trinidad. This is not the first time that DC police have tried this. Here's a piece in the Washington Post that talks about some of the history.

Here's another piece that details the circumstances around the seven people killed the weekend of May 30 through June 1.

It's important to note that in many cities the crime rate is actually trending DOWNWARD. Here's a piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer today that makes that point. But the number of homicides is still too high. One is too many if the victim is someone you love.

On a more amusing note ... Gas prices (ok, not that amusing...). We had two guests from the two countries were prices are HIGHEST and LOWEST:Norway and Venezuela. Two analysts told us why.

And the MOCHA DADS. We always try to do something spicy for Father's Day. Today we got the idea to do a roundup of DAD bloggers, particularly interested in those that combine the Dad world with multicultural concerns. That's why we had an African American dad, and an author of the blog Rice Daddies, about Asian-American fatherhood. But the conversation wasn't exclusive. Jeff Steele of DC Urban Moms and Dads is not a man of color, but the list serve he moderates and the blog he writes definitely addresses, as the name implies, urban issues.

If you are a Father or thinking about becoming one or want to support someone who is, consider checking them out.

Enjoy.

(PS. Douglas here. About the piece on the police checkpoints ... we've put together an audio slideshow from the Trinidad neighborhood. We asked some residents how they felt about the new checkpoints and I think you'll find their answers very compelling.)

Michel Martin

1:47 PM ET | 06-10-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Checkpoints only in Black venues is indeed racist and no doubt illegal.. I could argue that deaths whose origins are in white acknowledged venues where where white ceo's and white managers live who then create negative private and public policies. Where are the police checkpoints..Apparently the bodies must be fresh to warrant a police checkpoint!!!!

Sent by Thrasher | 5:16 PM ET | 06-10-2008

I am an American living in Denmark and enjoyed your segment very much about gas prices in Norway. Denmark and Norway as mentioned by your guest have very similar policies regarding gas and taxes.Being an American I have always hated the high price of gasoline and cars but the points made by your guest are very valid. Sure gas is very expensive and there are high taxes but they serve multiple purposes. The roads are very well maintained, funds are used for other infrastructure programs and generally there is a much better awareness of how resources are used when things are so expensive. Norway and Denmark are also pretty energy self sufficient but use there resources I think a little more wisely than many other countries. I was a little disappointed that your guest from Norway did not get to elaborate more on how the cost of gas there is used and that Michelle Martin kiddingly said she would never go there. It would be nice if the reasoning behind the high prices were explored a little further. Norway and Denmark both share high literacy, low unemployment, virtually no homelessness and there is just so much more to it than just high gas prices. I have been downloading Tell me more daily since I heard Michelle and heard level headed intelligent comments on her appearance on Real Time. I enjoy the show very much especially the barber shop and hope that you think about doing another segment on life in Scandinavia that isn't so fluffy.

Sent by Keith Merizalde (Lost in DK) | 4:12 PM ET | 06-12-2008

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