‘Guns are everywhere,’ Orlando police chief says A surge in murder and gunfire locally since the end of the federal assault-weapons ban in 2004. […] Florida law makes it easy for any adult without a criminal record to buy a gun. Yet many legally purchased guns end up being used by criminals. The state routinely…
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Does a tough economy mean more crime? Not necessarily. Good policing is more important, sez me. Here’s the story in the New York Times.
Copied from Crime & Justice News: The Democratic Party platform includes a four- paragraph section on criminal justice focusing principally on support for local law enforcement and ending violence against women, says the National Criminal Justice Association, which represents states and localities in Washington, D.C. The platform says, “We will reverse the policy of cutting…
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“The corner boys, as they are sometimes called, are part of what is perhaps the most visibly anonymous demographic in the country. Young and black, feared and marginalized, they are the ones most likely to be viewed as a suspect in a crime and most likely to become the faceless victim of one. Nevertheless, if…
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Knife crimes? If only we could be so lucky! The story is here. For all the panic about rising knife violence in London, let’s keep in mind that London has 7.3 million people and about 160 murders a year. That’s fewer than New York City. Hell, it’s even fewer than Baltimore (population: 650,000)! And it’s…
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Too many people refuse to believe that there are some truly bad people out there. Some people are just bad. Police know this. Judges don’t. Is it unfair to throw someone in prison for a long time for a technical violation of parole? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on the person. Just because you can’t convict…
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I’m of two minds when it comes to gun control and the 2nd Amendment. I’m not a fan of guns. I would love to live in a society that heavily restricted gun ownership. But I don’t. Say what you want about the 2nd Amendment… and I’ve always said–just to be provocative to my liberal friends–that…
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I wish gas were taxed more. Much more. Luckily, I’m not running for political office. I saw this figurein an article in today’s New York Times. The point of the article is that gas in the U.S. is still pretty cheap compared to most countries. But when I look at the figure, I see what…
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Why is there so much violence in Baltimore? Maybe it’s the lead. Or you could say, “It’s the lead, stupid!” There’s a lot of lead paint in Baltimore, especially in poor neighborhoods. Greg Toppo reports in USA Today. In the academy, a friend and I used to joke that one of our dim classmates had…
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