The following paragraph recently appeared in an editorial printed in the opinion section of a local newspaper: The recent surge in violence in the southern part of the city is a result of a shortage of police officers and an absence of leadership on the

The argument claims that due to shortage of police officers in the southern part of the city and due to absence of leadership, there has been an increase in violence and crime rate in the southern part of the city. Further, the argument claims that in order to reduce the crime rates in the city, the city council should double the poilce force, rather spend time in issues such as education, job opportunity or community vitality. The argument manipulates the facts and conveys a distorted view of the situation. The conclusion of the argument relies on assumptions for which there is no clear assumption. Hence, the argument is weak and has several flaws.

Firstly, the argument readily assumes that increase in violence and crimes in the city is because of less poilce force in that city. This is a weak assumption because there is no relation between crime rate and the number of police force. Increase in crime depends upon many factors, rather than the number of police force. One among the many features is racism or discrimination, which means because of difference in caste systm or discrimination based on creed, color, income, people fight and induldge in crime rates. Another reason which could be possible is the unemployement rate which in high in that city. Because of unemployement, people get frustrated and angry, thereby involving in illegal and violent acts for money. Poor education and illiteracy could possibly be another factor of the burgeoning growth of crime, as poor educated people do not have enough knowledge to deal with small issues, which result in violence after some time.

Secondly, the argument claims that to stop the crime rates, the council should increase the police force. This is again an unsupported claim by the author because taking strict action against the violent mob will give rise to more agression and hard feelings, resulting in more increase in the crime rate of the country. The argument could have been considerably strengthened if the author had mentioned about any other measures that should be taken by the city council. Without convincing answers to the question, one is left with the impression that the argument is more of a wishful thinking rather than a substantive evidence.

Finally, the argument states that the council should not involve in issues such as education quality, job opprtunity and community vitality and instead should doble the police force. This is a invalid assumption because changing the minds of people in involving in peripheral issues will help in reduction of crime rates.

In conclusion, the argument is flawed due to the above mentioned reasons and is therefore unconvincing. In order to assess the merits of a particular situation, it is essential to have full knowledge about the contributing factors. In this particular situation, withot much information, the argument remains unsubstantiated and open to debate.