'Tis the season to wish good things for the year ahead so here's my list.
I hope the worsening economy does not translate into a higher crime rate. Scholars and police disagree about whether bad economic times and high unemployment necessarily equals more crime. I agree with the boots-on-the-ground police types who tell me crime especially thefts, burglaries and domestic abuse does go up in hard times.
I wish our politicians -- from the White House to the state house -- would start talking about crime and its daily effects on Americans. Our nation was founded on quality of life issues and its common sense to say this should be a priority.
I hope I live long enough to get through an airport without taking off half my clothing and my shoes.
I hope no law enforcement personnel are killed in the line of duty this coming year.
I hope no truly innocent person is executed.
I hope anyone found to have engaged in wanton criminal activity in connection with the mortgage, banking or Wall Street mess gets prison time.
I hope the nation's back log of 400,000 DNA rape kits gets processed and the findings logged in a national data base. No telling how many rapists-at-large could be located and locked up to keep the rest of us safe. This should be tops on the 2009 must-do list.
I wish a lot of things for our children.
I hope no more judges release chronic pedophiles after they've served a fraction of their sentences. It happened during 2008 in states from Massachusetts to California and several in between. We have to figure out a way to deal with this sector of our population. They are not curable and they are not going away. They will always be obsessed with victimizing our children.
That said, I hope our legislators figure out a way to make those infernal sex registries fairer. There are some registered sex offenders who simply do not belong on the list. Teenagers who've had sexual contact with other teenagers, men falsely accused by angry ex-wives and others who've been wrongly convicted do not deserve a Scarlet Letter lifetime of scrutiny.
I wish officials in every state would take a hard look at isolationist religious groups operating within their boundaries. In 2008 we learned it is not all bible study and prayer for the children who live in places like the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Texas or the Tony Alamo Ministry in Arkansas.
I hope the millions of American children with mothers or fathers in prison get the support they need so they don't repeat the mistakes of their parents. They need to know their parent's choices in life do not have to be theirs.
If we, as a society, can't keep the children safe what does that say about us?
I hope those in charge of our court system -- judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys -- focus more on the intent of the law and less on the loopholes that let criminals walk free. I hope they pursue the path that's good for society and not the path that requires less work.
I hope law schools return to teaching budding lawyers how to focus on the strengths of our law and not to exploit the weaknesses.
I would bother to hope that prisons release convicts who have been truly rehabilitated but I'm afraid there isn't enough money in any state's budget for that. Still, I do hope for better psychological treatment and job training for those prisoners destined to be released.
While I'm in the process of hoping for things that will likely never happen I'd like to hope for fewer guns to be imported to America and fewer manufactured and sold here. We've got enough guns already.
And here's another - I hope all criminals, in that split second before they commit another crime, stop and think about the impact of their actions on others.
I hope all parents once again take responsibility and remember to instill a sense of what's right and what's wrong in their children.
I hope America returns to a sense of true community, the idea that all we really have is each other to survive.
Oh - And I hope everyone reading this has a healthy, happy and safe 2009!
Dimond's website is: www.DianeDimond.net -- reach her at: Diane@DianeDimond.net