Well, Duh! Newark Bans Barbed Wire, Crime Soars

Absolute genius, those folks in Newark. Let's see, what can we do to improve the image of one of the most crime-ridden cities in America? Here's a great idea: Let's remove one of the best deterrents to criminals!

Fabulous idea. Next thing you know we'll find out cities with handgun bans have high crime rates.

Some business owners in this crime-plagued city say recent enforcement of a decades-old ordinance prohibiting some types of barbed wire and razor wire is making Newark more attractive — to thieves.

Burglaries are up 17 percent from 2007 through November in Newark, which has a young, charismatic mayor who has vowed to help the city rebound from decades of official inaction, incompetence and outright criminality.

The city is aggressively courting new investment and development, but people who have been ordered to downgrade their fences say officials are worried more about aesthetics than security.

John DeSantis, owner of a lot used by an auto repair business in Newark's West Ward, says his property has been the site of more than a dozen burglaries since the summer, when the city forced him to remove razor wire on top of the 7-foot-tall fence that surrounds the lot.

"The bottom line was, they said, 'It doesn't look good and we want to create a new image for the city of Newark,'" DeSantis said.

Let's face it. No amount of work is going to help Newark's image. It's a lost cause.