Project Targets Gun Criminals

[JayS]

Project Targets Gun Criminals
June 4, 2004
Reported by KPLC Staff
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1919376&nav=0nqxNfmq


You may wonder why police seem to seize so many guns-- well, getting guns used for crime off the streets has been a high priority of Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon since he became chief in January 2002. The special emphasis seems to have reduced local crime involving firearms.

*SNIP*

Chief Dixon says it's an initiative targeting federal prosecution of gun criminals: "If you're a convicted felon and we catch you in possession of a gun, there is no good excuse. There is no good reason. You're up to bad intent. These are the people out there who are repeat offenders, habitual offenders, and that's basically how they survive-- by committing crimes with guns. You take just one of them off the street it's going to help."

So, Dixon explains, whenever they find a gun they run a trace on it through the federal ATF . If possible, they pursue federal prosecution which Dixon says has great results: "It speeds the system up. These cases, normally, by the time the incident happens, we send it over. It usually goes before a grand jury within three or four months, we have an indictment, 95% of the time they're detained in the federal system which means they're a danger to the community-- there is no bond."

But even better perhaps, Dixon says there's been a tremendous reduction in the number of guns on the streets and in crimes involving guns: "Our reduction in gun crimes from 2003 compared to 2002--which is armed robberies with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, I think is about a 30 per cent reduction."

*SNIP*

[RC]

1. Gee, 4:55 to 5:20 something and

No one had descended on this thread and argued how a high gun count among the general population keeps crime down.

[OpSomBlood]

2. This article is not about the "general population"

The program targets known violent criminals. I don't think anyone here is opposed to that.

[RC]

4. So what does commen sense have to do with

thinking you need a gun?

[OpSomBlood]

5. Nobody is forcing you to own a gun.

So your opinion on whether I "need" one is really not your call to make.

[slackmaster]

3. They're taking guns away from criminals, not the general population

Gun count among the general population has no clear relationship to crime rates.