By: Atty. Michael H. Agranoff, Ellington, CT

It is axiomatic that no one, other than criminals, really wants to live amidst crime. So
why do so many big-city Mayors and their State Governors do nothing about it – other than ask
for more money for police whom they will hamstring? They will not allow the police to do their
jobs fully, and their prosecutors will release even violent criminals with little or no bail.
There seem to be four reasons for Executive inaction:

1. A mistaken belief that the minority community wants minority criminals left
   alone, as a sort of twisted retribution for the George Floyd murder.
2. The hope that they can wrangle Federal dollars to fight the problem, which
   will invariably end up in their General Fund.
3. An article of faith that crime is not really that bad after all. It is merely a
   reflection of American “systemic racism”. Note that this Alice-in-
   Wonderland phrase means anything that you want it to mean.
4. The certain knowledge that the best way to end crime is to end gangs; which
   means encouraging strong two-parent families. Unfortunately, that is counter
   to the established welfare system.

As to crime not being that bad: I lived in New York City for two years and never once
had a problem. I rode the subway over a thousand times without incident. My wife now refuses
to go to New York City, and I am not anxious to myself.

I had several good trips to Chicago. It is now the murder capital of the country. It has
violent crime rates worse than some third-world capitals. It is, to be charitable, a national
embarrassment. Note that whenever a white cop shoots a black person, it’s all over the news for
weeks. But the epidemic of black-on-black crime seldom if ever appears in the legacy media.

President Trump saw the crime problem in the District of Columbia and determined to do
something about it. He had every right to. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the same right with
regard to other cities. Their Mayors and Governors are fighting him tooth-and-nail, saying that
they “don’t need Federal troops.”
But unfortunately, as anyone can see, they do.

What these Mayors and Governors do not realize is that President Trump is setting a trap
for them.

If they refuse Federal help, and crime increases, they will be portrayed in the 2026
mid-term elections as the Party of Crime and Anarchy.
And if they do accept Federal help, they will be admitting that Trump was right.

Not a good position to be in. Imagine if the Republican Party said that they wanted to
defund fire departments, on the grounds that cities were too crowded with houses anyway.
An answer to the dilemma may be this. Accept Federal help, and after the problem is
handled, say that it wasn’t needed in the first place. You will fool no one, but at least you will
save face.

The old Mayor of Los Angeles, Sam Yorty, was famous for saying that the job of Mayor
is to ensure public safety: police and fire protection. For this he was pilloried in the national
media.
Yet what is the Mayor’s job?
I live in a peaceful neighborhood and want to keep it that way. Who objects?

In the 50’s, when I grew up, both parties favored law and order. Then came Woodstock
and other pop culture demonstrations. A general feeling developed that people should be
“allowed to do whatever they wanted.”
But the sad truth is that giving people freedom that they are not ready for is no freedom at
all. It is irresponsibility and anarchy.
Government is established to protect the people. No one “wants” Federal policing; but
when it becomes necessary, we must have it.

All of which proves what the late Jacques Barzun, Provost of Columbia University, said
back in 1968: “With human beings, total facilitation has never facilitated anything.” Politicians
asked for this and now must deal with it.

Michael H. Agranoff is a lawyer in Ellington, CT. His book “When the State Knocks: A
Parent’s Guide to CPS (Child Protective Services” is due to be published by Defiance Press in
late October, 2025)