Never let it be said that the Big Apple's intrepid leadership is short on crime-fighting ideas. They may not have a superhero in blue Spandex and red briefs, flying around the city apprehending bad guys, posing heroically, and oozing toxic masculinity, but they will soon have the next best thing - panic buttons.

Yes, really.

🚨NEW — NYC Mayor Eric Adams announces that "panic buttons" will be given to business owners to alert the police to ongoing crime. pic.twitter.com/Ah4EShTPDk

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 5, 2025

Hizzoner said:

... a panic button that you will immediately be able to hit, that is going to alarm the police, it's going to be connected directly to the local precinct, who you give a combination so it will give you (sic) access to the cameras in the store, to see what is taking place, and how we can immediately respond.

Is he kidding? 

At least this panic button doesn't have any incorrect Russian language on it, unlike the one gifted to Russia by the then-Secretary of State, Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, Dowager-Empress of Chappaqua. But honestly, it looks a lot like someone put one over on Mayor Adams.

Honestly, this is pretty much the definition of futile. Look at how Mayor Adams worded this, and it comes out looking even worse than a 911 call. You can hit the button "immediately," and I'll concede it has the advantage of not having to visibly pick up a phone. Like a silent alarm button, it can presumably be placed somewhere where it can be activated surreptitiously. But when it's activated, if you've gone through the correct implied process to give the police access to your store cameras - and if you have store cameras - then you get to wait for officers to bring up the camera feed on a monitor, to take a look at what's going on, and then to decide what (if any) response is warranted.

I've got a better idea, Mayor Adams: Stop making it virtually impossible for the law-abiding residents of New York City to arm themselves for their own protection and the protection of their property. Make being a robber or looter a dangerous business. An armed man can face down a thug; an unarmed man can only be a victim. At least give them a chance to resist; right now, they have none, and this panic button boondoggle just drips impotence. No thug will be afraid of being caught by a panic button.

See Also: Tren de Aragua Tykes Rain Mayhem Down on Times Square, Mock NYPD

And Another: Judge Blocks NYC Mayor Adams' Effort to Deal With Illegal Immigrants

One of my personal heroes, Colonel Jeff Cooper, once famously said:

If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it. The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury. Therefore what he must be taught to fear is his victim.

As usual, he was right. Liberal urban pols don't like to face this fact, but it remains a fact. Criminals should be living in terror, every moment of every day, and our major cities will never be peaceful until the fear in the hearts of the citizens blossoms instead in the goblins who mean to prey on them. Let's hear it for making crime a dangerous business!

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