Crime is reduced by locking up criminals. But how do we reduce the over-representation of blacks among the criminal population? Propose some useful answers to that question, and you will have made quite a contribution. Someone needs to explain why blacks are over-represented in the criminal population and what factors are contributing to that. Poverty, poor education, bad ideas, and impoverished culture? It seems that we should have some interest in that question if there is some interest in reducing the over-representation of blacks in the criminal population.

I don't question Heather Mac Donald's analysis, but what is the point of this article? Does she believe that there
is an inherited inner racial essence of black people that
makes them more likely to commit crimes? Since the threat
of prison doesn't seem to be as much of a deterrent as
prison enthusiasts think, shouldn't we start thinking
about the positive incentives to law-abidingness--jobs,
dignity, hopefulness about the future--and why some
populations respond to them and others think crime is
worth the risk?

The American situation is exactly mirrored in Britain. The courts have a disproportionate case load involving young blacks because they commit a disproportionate number of crimes. The Chinese, in contrast, are probably the most law-abiding community in Britain, so I have never seen one in court.

Brian Gunn, Justice of the Peace.

Len Bias was not using crack on the night he died. He reportedly snorted massive amounts of powder cocaine over a period of several hours.

Ms. Mac Donald is wrong on one count:

A young man who is law abiding, responsible, and respectable is at a serious disadvantage in the urban core when looking for a mate. In fact, he'd be lucky to find any woman at all.

What Ms. Mac Donald refuses to face is that most women in urban poor areas select the most "hard" man around. That is, the most tough, macho, dangerous-appearing criminal. Jail time, particularly for violent crimes, is far more appealing than "responsibility," which women in urban poor areas see as unmanly, weak, and "not black."

Women's selection for the most dangerous thugs over responsible men makes sense. Urban core areas are violent, and the violent men rule them. Only a violent man can offer protection from other violent men, and pass on that proclivity for violence that would make a son successful in finding mates.

Black women are not stupid. They are responding to an environment where only physical intimidation and prowess count. Thus, that is exactly the kind of men they choose to father their children. A law-abiding, responsible man is simply a stupid choice for black women in urban core areas, so they don't choose him.

Young men know this, so they compete to be the most dangerous man around. This sexual selection alone likely counts for many of the otherwise senseless shootings, a la "Where you from?"

This points out the dangers in ceding law to the "street," and what happens to social capital once the rule of law effectively ceases to exist. Changing this will require the work of generations at least, and massive and sustained political will.

Outstanding! You hit the nail on the head here. I only wish that your sentiments could receive the national media attention that they deserve. Better yet, I'd like to see the NAACP, ACLU, and other such groups take their racial blinders off and see the problem for what it really is; but then they'd have to admit that the problem is self-created and stop playing the race card at every step and turn.

As a retired polie officer, I always relish your articles regarding our criminal justice system and its components. Thank you.