"Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

1
The Justice Department is launching an effort in five cities in the U.S. to reduce spiking gun violence by addressing illegal trafficking and prosecuting offenses that help put guns in the hands of criminals.

Attorney General Merrick Garland will launch the gun trafficking strike forces in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The effort will include stepped-up enforcement in so-called supply areas — cities and states where it’s easier to obtain firearms that are later trafficked into other cities with more restrictive gun laws.

Besides prioritizing gun crimes, the strike forces will embrace intelligence sharing and prosecutions across jurisdictions, Justice Department officials said. Authorities have also embedded federal agents in homicide units of police departments across the U.S., have been deploying additional crime analysts and are conducting fugitive sweeps to arrest people who have outstanding state and federal warrants for violent crimes.

Violent crimes, particularly homicides and shootings, are up in many cities around the country, and the Biden administration has sought to aid communities hamstrung by violence. But the initiative launched this week differs from other recent federal efforts to address violence, because it is not sending agents or prosecutors into cities with crime spikes. Justice officials say the strike forces are targeted prosecutions meant to be a longer-term effort to combat gun trafficking.

There is no federal gun trafficking law, so federal agents often must rely on other statutes, like lying on a firearms purchase form, to prosecute gun trafficking cases or stop straw purchasers, people who buy weapons legally to then provide them to others who can’t legally have them.

Officials hope the new plan will mean federal prosecutors in some of the supply cities will be more likely to bring charges in those cases.

But if the effort sounds familiar, it is. In 2017, Chicago police, federal agents and prosecutors launched a similar initiative — the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force — to try to stem the flow of illegal firearms in the city and curb rampant gun violence.

The Justice Department said that strike force was formed in response to a surge in firearm violence and its work is continuing, but it has been focused locally in Chicago on reducing violence and not on gun trafficking from other jurisdictions that put the guns in the hands of criminals. That’s been the case with similar gun task forces, too, including in New York.

“These previous approaches generally surged resources to specific areas, without a sustained focus on cross-jurisdictional trafficking,” the department said. “Now we are formalizing and standardizing coordination between districts. This strategy is focused on trafficking -- keeping firearms out of the hands of those who will pull the trigger.”

Police statistics released earlier this month showed that fewer killings were reported over the first six months of 2021 in Chicago compared with the same period last year, but the number of shootings and people shot increased.

While crime is rising in many U.S. cities, violent crime overall remains lower than it was a decade ago or even five years ago.

Experts say this year’s spike in crime defies easy explanation and point to a number of potential causes, including the coronavirus pandemic, worries about the economy and large gatherings after months of stay-at-home orders.
https://apnews.com/article/health-gover ... ef7bd5e781

All blue states, must be that the Biden administration needs to show those Democratic mayors that they are doing something.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: "Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

3
featureless wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:37 am LA and San Francisco? Don't California gun laws work?
LOL, Newsom and his ilk will be pushing more gun laws. Maybe like NYC where you have to get NYPD permission to take your firearm to a gunsmith.
https://rulesofnyc.readthedocs.io/en/la ... n-firearms

Or Britain where cops come to your home every five years to make sure firearms are secure and check ammo levels. Only shotguns and rifles are approved and mainly people in rural areas or hunters. Cops are the only ones who get handguns.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... 16_v20.pdf
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: "Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

4
Garland has a strategy that's hard for right wingers to oppose. Also, it's tough for average liberals to oppose. So, most will favor it.

Since criminals don't obey even California's gun laws, those in SF and LA will see this as a way only to extend the jail sentences convicted offenders. And for that reason, the for-profit prison industry will support Garland's position.

This means many average liberals will feel better, some average conservatives will find something else to whine about, and the prison industry makes money.

WCGW?

We here know that root cause mitigation provides more benefits and more safety to more people. But it does not provide profit. There's the weakness in the LGC strategy: we have to find a way to show the profits to people from implementing the root cause mitigation approach. This is tough because these things are hard to measure in a way that people can see the benefit. When we say, "Fewer people killed themselves," people have a hard time seeing "what's in it for me?"

This is tough. And it makes me inclined to pursue the competition/Zen shooter approach to this thing. I am, however, a dreamer. I see the challenges and produce a dream. Maybe I should make movies on my flip phone.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: "Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

6
BKinzey wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:22 pm
... Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The effort will include stepped-up enforcement in so-called supply areas — cities and states where it’s easier to obtain firearms that are later trafficked into other cities with more restrictive gun laws
Cities with more restrictive gun laws? Please name one.
Can't. It would appear the restrictions aren't having the desired effect. Better make more of them.

Re: "Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

7
CDFingers wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 11:19 am Garland has a strategy that's hard for right wingers to oppose. Also, it's tough for average liberals to oppose. So, most will favor it.

Since criminals don't obey even California's gun laws, those in SF and LA will see this as a way only to extend the jail sentences convicted offenders. And for that reason, the for-profit prison industry will support Garland's position.

This means many average liberals will feel better, some average conservatives will find something else to whine about, and the prison industry makes money.

WCGW?

We here know that root cause mitigation provides more benefits and more safety to more people. But it does not provide profit. There's the weakness in the LGC strategy: we have to find a way to show the profits to people from implementing the root cause mitigation approach. This is tough because these things are hard to measure in a way that people can see the benefit. When we say, "Fewer people killed themselves," people have a hard time seeing "what's in it for me?"

This is tough. And it makes me inclined to pursue the competition/Zen shooter approach to this thing. I am, however, a dreamer. I see the challenges and produce a dream. Maybe I should make movies on my flip phone.

CDFingers
Hit the nail on the head, CD.

Re: "Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

8
featureless wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:25 pm
BKinzey wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 12:22 pm
... Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The effort will include stepped-up enforcement in so-called supply areas — cities and states where it’s easier to obtain firearms that are later trafficked into other cities with more restrictive gun laws
Cities with more restrictive gun laws? Please name one.
Can't. It would appear the restrictions aren't having the desired effect. Better make more of them.
Right, this time it's a double pinky-promise.

Re: "Garland launches gun trafficking strike forces in 5 cities"

11
beto wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2021 7:14 pm You mean New York's and California 's draconian gun laws aren't being obeyed by the criminal element. Maybe they need community educators to straighten them out,
The funny thing is CA, NY and Chicago say the reason the gun laws aren't working is due to guns from other states flowing in. So why is a task force focused on stopping guns flowing out being sent to those places?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests