Poll: Your thoughts on the number of St. Louis Police districts being reduced from nine to six

For decades the Metropolitan St. Louis Police Department has had nine districts.  Effective last Monday the number was reduced to six. A week ago Chief Sam Dotson wrote on his blog:

The redesigned police districts will be more fully staffed, more streamlined, more efficient and more precisely balanced in terms of calls-for-service and crime numbers. The new system more readily lends itself to our core strategy of hot-spot policing. The transition has given us an opportunity to re-assign key personnel and give the new districts more cohesive and well lead management teams.

And yet for all the history-making significance of redistricting, the impact on the public will be so minor, I doubt most people will even notice.

You can see maps on Dotson’s proposal here.

I know St. Louis often resists change, so the poll this week asks for your thoughts on the number of St. Louis Police districts being reduced from nine to six. You can take the poll in the right sidebar. 

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Racial Discrimination Still Exists

More than 65% of those who voted in the unscientific poll last week indicated they witnessed and/or experienced racial discrimination:

Q: Have You Witnessed or Experienced Racial Discrimination Within the Last Two Years?

1. Yes, witnessed 31 [36.9%]
2. No 27 [32.14%]
3. Yes, experienced & witnessed 20 [23.81%]
4. Yes, experienced 4 [4.76%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 2 [2.38%]

When I originally posted the poll my expectations were too optimistic. Part of my optimism is likely because I’ve been out of the office workforce for nearly a decade now. Work remains.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on the Phase Out of 40 & 60 Watt Light Bulbs

The environment is an area I’ve written about before, including energy use and lighting. If you haven’t been paying attention, you may be in for a shock:

Starting Jan. 1, the U.S. will stop manufacturing and importing incandescent light bulbs in favor of ones more energy-efficient.

The phase out started with 100-watt and 75-watt incandescent light bulbs in 2012 and 2013. The last phase out will include the 60-watt and 40-watt. (Source)

Stores may sell their current inventory, the government is slowly forcing us to switch to more efficient lighting choices. Before you blame President Obama, he was just a Senator when the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush.

Now that we’re at the final stage of the incandescent bulb phase out, I’d like to know your thoughts so the poll this week is: 40 & 60 watt incandescent light bulbs on store shelves are the last ones, thoughts? 

I’ve provided a variety of answers but I’ve also given you the option to enter your own answer. The poll is in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Have You Witnessed or Experienced Racial Discrimination Within the Last Two Years?

Issues of race are nearly impossible to understand in one simple question. For a more in-depth look at race issues I find Pew’s research helpful:

Blacks are much more downbeat than whites about the pace of progress toward a color-blind society. They are also more likely to say that blacks are treated less fairly than whites by police, the courts, public schools and other key community institutions.

While these differences by race are large, significant minorities of whites agree that blacks receive unequal treatment when dealing with the criminal justice system. (King’s Dream Remains an Elusive Goal; Many Americans See Racial Disparities)

The perspectives of different races is not really surprising.

The poll question this week asks if you’ve witnessed or experienced racial discrimination within the last 2 years. I don’t expect those responding affirmative to be a huge percentage, but I’m pretty certain it’ll be greater than zero. The poll is in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: How Should Missouri Treat Marijuana?

The poll this week is an exact duplicate of a poll from last April, I want to see if there are any changes as a result of legal recreational marijuana in Colorado as of January 1st.

The results of the poll in April were:

1. Fully legalize 71 [53.38%]
2. Legalize for medical / decriminalize for recreational use 32 [24.06%]
3. Keep it illegal 21 [15.79%]
4. Legalize for medical use only 6 [4.51%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 3 [2.26%]

We’ll see if the current results differ from last year, the poll is in the right sidebar. Mayor Slay’s campaign website currently has a 10-question “mini-poll” on marijuana.

I’ll share more thoughts with the results on Wednesday the 22nd.

— Steve Patterson