On the official craigslist blog craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster posted his comments on the murder of Julissa Brisman. As expected I have a bone to pick with some of his comments.

Given the crime rate in society at large, it is remarkable how exceedingly few crimes have any connection with the 50 million Americans using craigslist each month.

That still doesn’t change the fact that people are being scammed, harassed, robbed, raped, buying drugs, trafficking children and yes getting killed all because of posts and ads on craigslist.

This reflects the good intentions of virtually all craigslist users, the effectiveness of staff efforts to prevent crime from reaching the site, and perhaps realization among criminals that using craigslist in connection with a crime is a virtual guarantee that they will be caught. Any misuse of craigslist for crime is unacceptable however, and we will not rest until it is eliminated.

You do know what the path to hell is paved with don’t you? Apparently, your staff isn’t all that effective because I post stories from all over the country on virtually a daily basis about the crime that’s committed on craigslist. And you talk about the ‘virtual guarantee’ that anyone committing crime on craigslist will be caught. Tell that to the thousands of prostitutes still doing business on craigslist not to mention the Nigerian scammers.

We are evaluating this incident closely to see if there are any additional things craigslist could be doing to further improve safety for our users and the general public.

There are actually tons of things you could have been doing to prevent this but you refuse to do them.

While incidence of violent crime on craigslist is vanishingly low, the risk is not zero.

Vanishingly low? Not even close. The risk is a lot more than ‘not zero’.

Personal safety tips for community members are prominently posted throughout the craigslist website and include the following recommendations from safety experts;

* Insist on a public meeting place like a cafe

* Tell a friend or family member where you’re going

* Take your cell phone along if you have one

* Consider having a friend accompany you

* Trust your instincts, and report any suspicious activity to authorities

While those are sensible tips I know two that could virtually eliminate most crime as it relates to craigslist. Eliminate the complete anonymity of craigslist users and do away with the erotic services section. Neither of which craigslist is willing to do.

craigslist founder Craig Newmark was much more subdued on his blog but echoes basically the same sentiments as Buckmaster…

craigslist gets around 50 million people using it per month; considering that, the crime rate we see is very low.

That’s a testament to the trustworthiness of the vast majority of community members… and maybe most crooks realize how vulnerable they are using our site.

Hey, do me a favor, and pass this on.

Don’t worry Craig, I already am.