Thundar
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Drying up an explosive pool
Posted to: Opinion Roger Chesley
[align=right][/u]Roger Chesley
Virginian-Pilot op-ed columnist
[/align]
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 29, 2008
Chesapeake police officials hope to get a sizable haul when they offer their first-ever gun buyback program at two precincts on Saturday, Dec. 6. People can turn in their firearms, no questions asked.
Only individuals dropping off functioning handguns, however, will get $100 gift cards. The money comes from Target stores and police asset forfeiture funds, Officer Dorienne Boykin told me Friday. The department has 300 gift cards to hand out, at a total value of $30,000.
"The program is designed to reduce violent crime in the city," said Boykin, a police spokeswoman. Some firearms stolen in burglaries from homes later are used in crimes, and this is one way of minimizing that inventory. Police will accept all types of guns.
Newport News police also will be holding a buyback Dec. 6, as they have in past years.
Is this a publicity stunt, as some critics contend? No. Obviously, with the hundreds of millions of handguns, rifles, shotguns and other long guns on America's streets, buybacks such as the ones next Saturday can take relatively few off the streets. And it's doubtful any criminals will be turning over their weapons at the Second Precinct in South Norfolk or Fourth Precinct in Western Branch.
Still, as part of a multifaceted approach at decreasing crime, gun buybacks have their place. Chesapeake city and community leaders have been mapping out such a strategy since two young men were killed July 1 within miles of each other in unrelated shootings. One of the victims was Lonnie Andrews, 18, a football star who had recently graduated from Oscar Smith High School and was bound for college.
The Chesapeake plan also includes mentoring programs for young people; fighting the "no snitching" mentality when witnessing crime; and aiding released felons in re-entry programs in society.
Some academics and researchers question the value of gun buybacks, however. One notable critic is Alex Tabarrok, associate professor of economics at George Mason University and research director at the Independent Institute, a think tank in Oakland.
"Economists and criminologists have a pretty strong consensus on this," he told me in a phone interview Friday. "The theory is not very good. Everyone who's studied this question said these gun buybacks don't work."
He cited, for example, a 2004 study by the National Research Council that criticized the value of buybacks. "There are hundreds of millions of guns in the United States," Tabarrok added. "If Chesapeake police buy a few, it's not going to [substantially] reduce the number of guns in the region."
Tabarrok says it would be more beneficial to put more officers on the street. But $30,000 - the cost of the Chesapeake buyback - won't even pay for one cop's training, benefits and salary for one year in most local cities.
Many police chiefs, including Chesapeake Chief Kelvin Wright, support buybacks. They are not perfect, but Chesapeake is taking a shot at making its streets safer. That's a welcome start.
Roger Chesley is associate editor of The Pilot's editorial page. Reach him at (757) 446-2329 or at roger.chesley@pilotonline.com
Link: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/drying-explosive-pool
Drying up an explosive pool
Posted to: Opinion Roger Chesley
[align=right][/u]Roger Chesley
Virginian-Pilot op-ed columnist
[/align]
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 29, 2008
Chesapeake police officials hope to get a sizable haul when they offer their first-ever gun buyback program at two precincts on Saturday, Dec. 6. People can turn in their firearms, no questions asked.
Only individuals dropping off functioning handguns, however, will get $100 gift cards. The money comes from Target stores and police asset forfeiture funds, Officer Dorienne Boykin told me Friday. The department has 300 gift cards to hand out, at a total value of $30,000.
"The program is designed to reduce violent crime in the city," said Boykin, a police spokeswoman. Some firearms stolen in burglaries from homes later are used in crimes, and this is one way of minimizing that inventory. Police will accept all types of guns.
Newport News police also will be holding a buyback Dec. 6, as they have in past years.
Is this a publicity stunt, as some critics contend? No. Obviously, with the hundreds of millions of handguns, rifles, shotguns and other long guns on America's streets, buybacks such as the ones next Saturday can take relatively few off the streets. And it's doubtful any criminals will be turning over their weapons at the Second Precinct in South Norfolk or Fourth Precinct in Western Branch.
Still, as part of a multifaceted approach at decreasing crime, gun buybacks have their place. Chesapeake city and community leaders have been mapping out such a strategy since two young men were killed July 1 within miles of each other in unrelated shootings. One of the victims was Lonnie Andrews, 18, a football star who had recently graduated from Oscar Smith High School and was bound for college.
The Chesapeake plan also includes mentoring programs for young people; fighting the "no snitching" mentality when witnessing crime; and aiding released felons in re-entry programs in society.
Some academics and researchers question the value of gun buybacks, however. One notable critic is Alex Tabarrok, associate professor of economics at George Mason University and research director at the Independent Institute, a think tank in Oakland.
"Economists and criminologists have a pretty strong consensus on this," he told me in a phone interview Friday. "The theory is not very good. Everyone who's studied this question said these gun buybacks don't work."
He cited, for example, a 2004 study by the National Research Council that criticized the value of buybacks. "There are hundreds of millions of guns in the United States," Tabarrok added. "If Chesapeake police buy a few, it's not going to [substantially] reduce the number of guns in the region."
Tabarrok says it would be more beneficial to put more officers on the street. But $30,000 - the cost of the Chesapeake buyback - won't even pay for one cop's training, benefits and salary for one year in most local cities.
Many police chiefs, including Chesapeake Chief Kelvin Wright, support buybacks. They are not perfect, but Chesapeake is taking a shot at making its streets safer. That's a welcome start.
Roger Chesley is associate editor of The Pilot's editorial page. Reach him at (757) 446-2329 or at roger.chesley@pilotonline.com
Link: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/drying-explosive-pool
