Personal Touch to Policing: Cain’s ‘Treat Every Case Like Your Mother is the Victim’ Stance on Law Enforcement

Welcome to the first installment of our series of interviews with mayoral candidate Carl Cain, a retired police officer who served the Niagara Falls Police Department with distinction for 30 years, retiring as Deputy Chief.

With Election Day slated for November 7, 2023, the 59-year-old Republican candidate is engaged in an intense campaign.

Cain’s opponent, incumbent Mayor Robert Restaino, is running on the Conservative and Democratic party lines.

With degrees spanning criminal justice from Niagara Community College, philosophy from the University of Buffalo, a master’s in business and an educational doctorate in leadership from Liberty University, Cain brings a unique blend of street experience and academic insight.

As Niagara Falls residents grapple with rising crime concerns, Cain offers a perspective rooted in decades of policing. In a conversation with the Reporter, Cain discusses the crime issue, the role of repeat offenders, the long-term solutions that focus on youth, and the role the mayor’s office can play in curbing crime.

Reporter

Niagara Falls is burdened with high crime. What can be done?

Carl Cain 

The way crime is measured? Yes, Niagara Falls is a high crime city statistically. We know that a few people commit most of the crimes. Once police arrest these people, crime goes down statistically.

Reporter

There are 48,000 people in Niagara Falls. How many repeat problem criminals are there? 

Cain 

It’s going to be a handful. And that’s not unique to Niagara Falls. Only a tiny percentage of the population is causing most of the problems.  Crime goes down when these people are off the streets if they move or are incarcerated.

 Reporter 

 What is the most effective way to limit their harm to the community? 

 Cain 

It starts with kids. We need to educate people with their minds but also with their hearts. We need to touch them in their hearts. And that takes kids being in church, being around adults that teach them to be respectful, playing sports. We need young men to learn to tame their temper because if you can’t tame your temper, something bad’s going to happen.

Reporter

How can you, as a mayor, have an impact on crime?

Cain 

I will begin by appointing a police chief who’s community-minded. By that, I mean having a department with strong community outreach. Going to the Boys and Girls Club and the school district asking, ‘What kind of programs can we work on together to foster, relate, and reach out to the community?

When I was deputy police chief, we had programs where we would talk to the kids in the neighborhood. We had after-school basketball programs. We were involved with the faith community. We were involved with the block clubs, getting out there and talking to people.

You cannot always measure your effectiveness, but ten years later, someone walks up to you and says, “Hey, man, I know you don’t remember, but you gave me some advice, and I took it. And now I’m in the military, or I made my relationship work, or I went to college”—many of these things you can’t measure.

But they will warm your heart years later when these children return to you and say how you impacted their lives.

Reporter

There’s prevention, and there’s enforcement. Is there anything you, as mayor, would do differently than Mayor Restaino concerning crime?

Cain 

I would encourage the police to make the arrest. Often, and it’s not just in Niagara Falls, but across the state, we hear police say, ‘Well, it’s not worth the time to arrest because of the way laws are in New York State, with bail reform.”

But, my argument is that if you don’t make the arrest, it encourages the perpetrator to continue doing what they’re doing. Because in their mind, there are no consequences.

I would like to see police officers treat every incident as if their mom was the victim. Would you want the officer to arrest the suspect if your mom was the victim of a crime? Or would you still want the officer to say, “Oh, nothing will happen to the perpetrator. So why waste my time.”? I think you go with the former.

Reporter

If you get caught, for instance, stealing from 7-11, and you’re walking out with a bag of stuff you didn’t pay for, is it true that sometimes officers don’t bother to arrest because they wouldn’t handcuff the thief? Do they give them an appearance ticket?

Cain 

Yes. The officer would give an appearance ticket. Officers often explain to the victim, in this case, the store manager, and they might tell them it’s a waste of time. So, what do you want me to do? And my answer is, “If it was your mother’s store, what would you do?” 

Of course, I would never try to mandate arrests because officers have to have discretion. But I would make it known to the officers, “I want you to treat every case like your mom was the victim.”

I think they would understand that I support them in making proper arrests, and I think they would do it.