Daniel Jackson Jr

Recently, current mayor of Worcester, Joseph Petty, has published campaign literature, in hopes of another term. Within the pamphlet our Mayor makes some bold statements regarding his tenure. He claims that crime is down, and simply ,” Things are better than they have been in a long time.” So, with such lofty claims, let’s take a look his claims of a safer Worcester.

According to NeighborhoodScout.com, Worcester is one of the most dangerous places in the United States. As a matter of fact, Worcester is only safer than 11% of the cities in the United States. NeighborhoodScout.com says, “Based on FBI crime data, Worcester is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Massachusetts, Worcester has a crime rate that is higher than 98% of the state’s cities and towns of all sizes.” Let’s put that into perspective a bit further.

The chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime in MA is 1 in 256 while in Worcester it is 1 in 112. That is less than half as safe. That also translates out to 190 crimes per square mile in Worcester. Compare that to the state average of 27.

I don’t know about you, but I sure feel much safer already.

This is further worsened by Joseph Petty’s refusal to uphold the law and deport illegal immigrants, making Worcester a “de facto” sanctuary city. As most citizens know, this only makes the city more dangerous.

In March of 2017, Brent Smith published an article about Worcester’s policies titled simply, “Sanctuary Cities Are Not Safer, Enable Yet More Murders By Illegals.”

This article confronts the ugly truth that not upholding federal law causes death in our city, including the murder of 49-year-old Sandra Hehir by an undocumented immigrant.

Smith states, “He was arrested in 2014 for breaking and entering. He had two drug warrants for his arrest in Massachusetts and giving a false name to police. Oh, and he also faces criminal charges in New York and Florida. Yet he is allowed to take up residence in Worcester – the sanctuary city that isn’t.”

Smith goes on to say, “So how does it feel, Mr. McFarlane, Mayor Petty and the rest of the hacks on the Worcester City Council, to be party to a heinous murder by an illegal you would shield from immigration authorities?”

When our own mayor makes statements to the public about the city being a safe place to be, then turns around in his next breath and refuses to uphold the law, I am at a lack for words. This lack of leadership is crippling and will only continue to harm our city.

I suppose the real question is how will the citizens of Worcester react to this information when election day comes? We will find out soon enough.

Daniel Jackson Jr
President

Becker College Young Americans for Liberty