I did some statistical work of my own on this topic... And the results were glaring: if you take out just the gang crime stats from the top urban counties, the U.S. has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
The overwhelming part of violent crime is committed by a very small number of people.
“The overwhelming part of violent crime is committed by a very small number of people.”
In fairness, that seems to be the angle they are trying to work here. And of course it’s part of the concept that was used in New York - criminals don’t obey ANY laws. So, if somebody jumps the subway turnstile they may be wanted on a warrant for a worse offense.
To a certain extent this is policing 101; I remember they finally tracked down “Son of Sam” because of a parking ticket. (And you know that could have just been a mistake, other than killing a bunch of people I think that parking ticket was his only offense, but they got him because of it anyway; and I don’t think he was anywhere close to stopping on his own.)
So yeah, keeping an eye on these particular people might not be a terrible idea, but I really don’t think that letter gimmick is going to work.