Where crime comes from

Volusia County, Florida is very much nasty guy territory. However, it also elected Michael Chitwood as sheriff. And his goal is to restore trust within the immigrant community. He said:

Where does crime come from? Crime comes from when you marginalize a race or a religion and you knock them out of mainstream society.

I like him already. Chitwood noticed that when a victim is undocumented and asked about it they shut down and don’t cooperate with police. So now he doesn’t ask. He does regular outreach to churches and schools reassuring people that helping the police won’t end in deportation. If ICE talks about someone wanted for murder Chitwood and his officers are ready to go. If ICE says they’re after someone with a visa problem Chitwood says we don’t have the manpower or training.

Perhaps as much as $60 million of the county’s economics comes from the farm field. Without immigrant or itinerant labor those farms are in trouble.