Camden, N.J.: Now Safer Than Detroit

President Obama gave a speech today in Camden, N.J. I was listening to conservative talk radio, and heard the speech mentioned in one of the quarter-hour news briefs carried by CBS News. The news briefs that are invariably slanted in favor of President Obama or Democrats, and against the G.O.P.

My ears pricked up when the newsreader replayed the part of Obama's speech where Obama declared that "Violent crime in Camden is down 24 percent. (Applause.) Murder is down 47 percent. (Applause.) Open-air drug markets have been cut by 65 percent. (Applause.)" This use of statistics by the President is begging to be fact-checked.

I will take the President's word about the reduction in "open-air drug markets." How could anyone objectively determine whether a group of people are selling drugs? That's purely an applause line.

In September of 2014, the Camden Police Department released crime statistics for the period between January 1, 2014, and August 31, 2014. They were able to then compare the reported crime rate between that period and the same periods in 2012 and 2013. The data does show a decrease in violent crime when comparing 2014 to 2012. Total reported murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults dropped by 22 percent.

Wait, don't most rapes go unreported? Anyway, the President is committing the fallacy of using cherry-picked statistics.

That 2012 is the starting year is the main reason the 2014 statistics look so good in comparison. 2012 was a high-water mark for crime rates. What if a different year is used as the starting point? In 2000, there were 24 murders in Camden. Last year, there were 33. In other words, murders have risen almost 38% since 2000.

One way police departments can improve their crime statistics is by reclassifying violent crimes as non-violent. Chicago has been cooking the books. So has Los Angeles. I am not alleging that any sort of reporting malfeasance is taking place in Camden, but it would not be surprising.

The New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association wrote a letter to Obama in which he advises the President to be wary of the crime statistics. PBA President Pat Colligan points out that since the Camden city police force was replaced by the Camden County police two years ago, the turnover rate has skyrocketed.

Obama wasn't just in Camden to congratulate the city for becoming so safe. He was also touting his program, called My Brother's Keeper. The goals of the program are, among others, to ensure all children enter school cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally ready, all youth graduate from high school, and that all youth out of school are employed.

I have the solutions to the youth employment problem. Abolish the minimum wage, and E-Verify job applicants. Let a fourteen-year-old get an after-school job as a gas jockey for five bucks an hour. They will learn to show up on time, ready for work.

And I have a solution to the school children who are not "emotionally ready" for school. Start a program called My Baby's Daddy. Since the Democratic Party figured out they have more support from single mothers than married women, they have been hell-bent on destroying the family.