it was certainly troubling to see all those images of riot police and masked anarchists in my hometown of good ol’ st. paul.

knowing that i had friends and former students on both sides of the lines, i worried that the clash might explode, that blood would be shed, and that careers and lives would be disrupted if not ruined.

and, did anyone else worry — just for a moment — that such a clash might usher in a repressive “law and order” response by the two major parties? don’t tell me that senator mccain isn’t ready to capitalize on such a moment, or that joe biden hasn’t already written the speech.

for better or worse, the conventions have ended, the out-of-towners have left, and the party platforms have been ratified. if you’d like a sneak preview of the role of crime in the coming debates, crimprofs points us to a helpful national criminal justice association guide to each party’s crime platform. a few excerpts and links:

The Democratic platform, adopted during the convention in Denver last week, includes a four-paragraph section on criminal justice focusing principally on support for local law enforcement and ending violence against women. On support for law enforcement, the platform states, “We will reverse the policy of cutting resources for the brave men and women who protect our communities every day. At a time when our nation’s officers are being asked both to provide traditional law enforcement services and to help protect the homeland, taking police off of the street is neither tough nor smart; we reject this disastrous approach. We support and will restore funding to our courageous police officers and will ensure that they are equipped with the best technology, equipment and innovative strategies to prevent and fight crimes.” …

“The Republican platform, adopted last week as delegates prepared to travel to Minnesota for this week’s convention, includes an eight-part criminal justice section on the topics of ending child pornography, gangs, sentencing, reforming prisons, federal law enforcement, fighting illegal drugs and protecting the victims of crime.”