How better journalism could prompt better crime-fighting ideas in Berks County

Here’s an example of why Berks County needs better journalism. My BS detector is chirping away.

bctv.org has an exclusive story that Berks County is getting almost a quarter of a million dollars in state crime-fighting money – the verbatim press release from state Rep. Tom Caltagirone.

Somebody should ask a few basic questions about this funding, and inform the public.

♦ “The Council on Chemical Abuse [remember when it called itself “COCA,” the plant from which we get cocaine?] will receive $49,583 in Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction funding … for the implementation of the council's Relapse Prevention: A Mindfulness-Based Approach support service.”

Cost for each of the 262 county residents served: $190.

How does the council declare success? How many relapses will mindfulness prevent?

♦ “Community Prevention Partnership of Berks County will receive $139,249 in funding to implement the Celebrating Reading Families project. The project is designed to support families in which one or both parents have, or are at risk for having, a serious problem with alcohol or other drugs and in which there is a high risk for domestic violence, child abuse or neglect. During the first year of implementation, the program is expected to serve 25 families.”

Cost per family: $5,570.

I have some questions. First, how many communities does Community Prevention Partnership actually prevent? Is it in its annual report? And how are they celebrating these families? Throwing parties, fireworks, what?

♦ “The Berks County commissioners will receive $42,348 in funding to make improvements … to reduce case backlog. [Did you even know there was a case backlog?] As part of their Automated Fingertip [most of the world substitutes the word “fingerprint” here] Identification System Efficiency Improvement project, the funding will be used to purchase additional computer hardware and software to help reduce the turnaround time for results in fingerprint cases.”

Cost per fingerprint: Unknown

I don’t mind the money being spent if it can be justified. For all these grants, how much goes to administrative costs, like the executive director’s salary?

Is this the best way to spend all this money? Are these the best crime-fighting ideas coming out of Berks County’s leaders, even after the Crime Summit?