You might have heard, as I just did, that the
NYPD is being challenged on its policy of searching people in certain neighborhoods, without warrants -- or even probable cause. The police search people based on what they deem as "suspicious behavior." The NYPD are being taken to court by some residents who have had quite enough of it.
Today, on the news, I heard the police department's defense: It is effective. Crime in New York is down. I also heard a professor from Manhattan say that these searches are taking place in high-crime areas. She admitted that these high-crime areas are mostly populated by minorities. She seemed as if she thought this is a most unfortunate reality, but she maintained that this stop-and-search approach has been effective, so it is beneficial.
In 1729,
Jonathan Swift addressed a problem in Dublin: too many poor kids on the streets. They were a burden to their parents and to the state. He came up with a solution: eat the children. If you've read his proposal, you will have seen that all the ducks, as they say, are in a row. It is most effective, this idea of eating the poor.
