Alphecca: Smart Editorial & Smart Cop

January 27, 2006

Smart Editorial & Smart Cop

Police Chief Gerald H. Cliff advised Saginaw City Council members Monday against buying citizen's guns to thwart violence, saying buybacks didn't get the types of high-powered weapons used by gangs off the streets.

Cliff's straightforward evaluation of gun buy-backs was right on target. Gun buy-back initiatives, in which officials purchase guns from citizens, ostensibly to keep them out of the hands of criminals, aren't effective. A handful of studies since the 1990s, when the federal government gave cities cash to buy guns, show they tend to lure law-abiding citizens to bring in small caliber guns. More importantly, Cliff said the studies indicate buying "closet guns" doesn't have a measurable impact on reducing violence.

Instead, the police chief offered the City Council an alternative to counteract the disturbing violence on Saginaw's streets.

Cliff stressed the importance of the city's Safe Streets team, a squad of five officers that targets street crime. He said if he had enough funding for 10 more officers, he would establish a second five-member Safe Streets team to target gangs and street crime.

It's not the thugs who will turn in their guns. Gather the resources to fight crime, not law abiding citizens who own guns.

Posted by Jeff Soyer at January 27, 2006 07:49 AM

Comments

Wow, they actually figured it out, and admitted it. I always thought that if gun buy back programs were the answer, how about crack buy back program?

Posted by: Rey at January 27, 2006 09:10 AM

Chief Cliff announces his 'retirement' in 4, 3, 2, 1,...

Posted by: tomWright at January 27, 2006 09:37 AM

Why do we still use the anti gun phrase "gun buyback" ?
You can only "buy back" something you previousley owned.
Except for my M1 Garand, the goverment NEVER owned any of my firearms.
If you let your enemy define the terms of the debate,(ex."High Capacity Magazine" when what is meant is a Standard 14/15 rd magazine ) you will lose everytime.

Dennis

Posted by: dennis at January 27, 2006 11:33 AM

I remember hearing about a program in Detroit, many years ago, when they faced a rash of carjackings. Mayor, Police Chief and District Attorney supposedly held a press conference to announce a new program under which armed, plainclothes cops would cruise likely crime areas and, if a carjacking was attempted all perpetrators would be shot, as many times and in whatever places it took to insure that they were dead. "There will be no trials" was the motto. Carjackings reportedly dropped dramatically, overnight.

Think that's what Saginaw's Safe Streets teams are doing? If not, why not?

Posted by: wrangler5 at January 27, 2006 06:42 PM

A couple of years ago, a local TV station (Toledo, OH, channel 24) had a news story on "gun buy-back" that began:

"Well, tonight, Toledo is a bit safer due to a number of guns being taken off the streets in a buy back program" (or words very close to that) The bit ended with "we'll bring you more news when there's another buy back next Saturday"

It took me about 2 minutes with Google (on a DIALUP connection, no less) to find a study or 2, sources on a .edu site, NOT the NRA, that put the lie to the "safer streets" claim. I wrote to the news director, pointed him to the .edu site, and I don't think there was a report the following Saturday.

Will write an email outlining a previous encounter with that station's biased gun reporting.

Posted by: jdunmyer at January 28, 2006 12:53 PM

When Chicago undertook such a program, there was a rash of gun robberies. The city knew in at least one case that they had "bought back" a stolen gun, an historic black powder Colt SAA worth many times what they paid for it, and as far as I know refused to return it to the rightful owner. My son had friends of friends on the fringes of the street gangs, and reported that the program was also used to dispose of evidence guns from shootings.

Posted by: triticale at January 28, 2006 08:56 PM

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January 27, 2006

Smart Editorial & Smart Cop

By Golly, you're reading an archived post. Click Here to head to the main page and read current stuff...

Check it out:

My group sci-fi blog novel:

Colony: Alchibah