Reply #43: Why? Why do they get special status?

[shield20]

Whose logic was it that said the police should be better armed then the people they are supposed to serve? I did like those perks when I was a cop, but why should I be afforded special privliges then that other law-abiding civilians can not enjoy? You think the few days of range time and semi-annual qualification really makes them better?

Your police friends, just like the rest of we, the people, should be able arm themselves with whatever it takes to stay safe. They should also keep working to put the criminals behind bars, and get the judges to make sure they stay there.

In the Summer of 1999, the New Haven Gun Project implemented several new strategies to attack violent gun crime in the City of New Haven.

The selection of strategies relied in significant part on extensive research into the specific nature and dimensions of incidents of murder, assault with a firearm, armed robbery, the unlawful firing of firearms and unlawful firearm possession. Data from this research, conducted by Spectrum Associates of Farmington, Connecticut, was presented...

Some of the data presented included:

A large percentage of offenders and victims were 15-21 years of age.

Most offenders had serious criminal histories.

One fifth of offenders had been arrested for a prior gun offense, and three-fifths had a history of drug charges.

Over one third of the offenders were on probation at the time of the new gun-related offense.

Approximately one-third of offenders or victims associated with murders and armed assaults were members of neighborhood "groups" believed to be involved in other illegal activities.

(http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Police/Partnerships.asp#Guns)

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