{"id":457758,"date":"2022-06-04T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-improving-gun-related-convictions-would-solve-gun-crime\/"},"modified":"2022-06-04T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T16:00:00","slug":"why-improving-gun-related-convictions-would-solve-gun-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-improving-gun-related-convictions-would-solve-gun-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why improving gun-related convictions would solve gun crime"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30dd955a14a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30dd955a14a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-improving-gun-related-convictions-would-solve-gun-crime\/#%E2%80%9CWhy_improving_gun-related_convictions_would_solve_gun_crime%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Why improving gun-related convictions would solve gun crime&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhy_improving_gun-related_convictions_would_solve_gun_crime%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Why improving gun-related convictions would solve gun crime&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>When it comes to gun-control debates, most legislative proposals put forward by Democrats focus either on further restricting federally licensed firearms dealerships \u2014 or on adding new regulations for gun shows. It\u2019s the same debate, over and over: What kinds of guns can gun shops sell? Who can buy their products? How are customers to be screened? Etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bjs.ojp.gov\/content\/pub\/pdf\/suficspi16.pdf\">as the Department of Justice reports<\/a>, only about two percent of prisoners who were in possession of a firearm at the time of their crime got that gun from a gun store, while the share of prisoners who got their guns at a gun show is vanishingly small at 0.8 percent. That 18-year-old maniac in Uvalde \u2014 who bought his guns legally from a licensed retailer \u2013 was a statistical outlier. Licensed gun dealers and gun shows are, if you look at the numbers, basically non-factors in the crime scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What about the common \u2014 all too common \u2014 criminals?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>One thing we do know is that a great deal of U.S. crime is driven by a relatively small number of career criminals. Prisoners in state custody have an average of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bjs.ojp.gov\/content\/pub\/pdf\/rprts05p0510.pdf#page=6\">ten arrests and five convictions on their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s<\/a>. And when it comes to violent crime \u2014 and, especially, murder \u2014 the chaos on our streets is largely the work of experienced, veteran bad guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You won\u2019t be surprised to learn that more than 80 percent of the murderers in New York City have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com\/2011\/01\/03\/murders-rise-in-new-york-city-but-remain-near-historic-lows\/\">prior arrest records<\/a>. (So do about 80 percent of the victims.) As in most of the rest of the country, these criminals typically have at least one prior conviction, and, in many cases, a prior conviction for a violent crime. In Chicago, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.city-journal.org\/html\/second-third-and-fourth-chances-at-what-price-15657.html\">87 percent of the killers have police records<\/a>, with an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manhattan-institute.org\/html\/biden-should-be-proud-of-his-record-on-crime\">average of 12 arrests<\/a> by the time they are brought in for murder. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manhattan-institute.org\/html\/biden-should-be-proud-of-his-record-on-crime\">In Baltimore<\/a>, the average killer has 9.3 prior arrests, and a third of the murderers are on probation when they kill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/salvador-ramos.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Ramos\" class=\"wp-image-22495807\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/salvador-ramos.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/salvador-ramos.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/salvador-ramos.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/salvador-ramos.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Salvador Ramos, the gunman at the center of the Uvalde, TX school shooting, obtained his weapons legally \u2014 a rarity in cases of violent crime involving firearms. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\"><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a>\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But like most other Democrat-run cities, New York doesn\u2019t seem too inclined to do anything about that. Earlier in the year, the NYPD Lieutenants Benevolent Association went public with a bitter complaint: According to an LBA report based on NYPD data, New York police arrested 4,456 people on gun charges in 2021, and prosecutors dismissed more than 1,200 of those cases out-of-hand, declining to prosecute them. While 1,784 cases remained open at the end of the year, only a small share of those arrests\u2014just 711\u2014resulted in a criminal conviction, overwhelmingly in plea deals, with just one <em>(yes, one!) <\/em>conviction coming from an actual trial. But it\u2019s the more than 1,200 cases that were just thrown out that really burned the LBA. \u201cYou tell me where they\u2019re taking gun violence seriously,\u201d said LBA president Lou Turco.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>New Yorkers already know how unserious their city is when it comes to gun crime. They can look around and see the evidence for themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But it isn\u2019t just New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Consider the perennially misgoverned city of Philadelphia. Today, a criminal facing a gun charge there is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/data.philadao.com\/Case_Outcomes_Report.html\"><em>twice<\/em> as likely to have his case dismissed<\/a> as he was just six years ago. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/data.philadao.com\/Case_Outcomes_Report.html\">According to the Philadelphia District Attorney\u2019s office<\/a>, only 30 percent of gun cases were dismissed or withdrawn in 2016\u2014and by 2021, that figure had <em>doubled<\/em>, to 60 percent. I should emphasize here that these are gun crimes specifically, not petty marijuana-possession cases or shoplifting. In 2016, 61 percent of the gun-crime cases ended either in a guilty plea or in a conviction in court, but by 2021 that figure had declined to 36 percent\u2014which is to say, if you are among the unlucky few criminals who actually gets charged with a gun crime in Philadelphia, you still have a two-out-of-three chance of walking on the charge today, while six short years ago the most likely outcome was a conviction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ny-supreme-court-building.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Court\" class=\"wp-image-22495823\" width=\"618\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ny-supreme-court-building.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1233 1236w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ny-supreme-court-building.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=925 927w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ny-supreme-court-building.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=618 618w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ny-supreme-court-building.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=308 309w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ny-supreme-court-building.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 618px) 100vw, 618px\"\/><figcaption>Municipal court systems, particularly in America\u2019s largest cities, rarely succeed in securing convictions and jail time for weapons offenses. As a result, illegal guns \u2014 and their users \u2014 remain on the streets.   <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>How did this h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en? Did Philadelphia prosecutors suddenly forget where the courthouse is located?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unhappily, Philadelphia\u2019s story is repeated in far too many high-crime cities\u2014cities that are, though it may be redundant to say so, Democrat-run cities\u2014around the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chicago police seize a lot of guns, and the Cook County state\u2019s attorney office says it is making a priority out of gun cases. Yet, despite Chicago\u2019s notorious gun-crime problem, the share of gun offenders who go to jail there is actually declining.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As recently as 2017, 71 percent of those convicted of the serious charge of Class 4 felony firearms possession in Cook County were sentenced to jail time. But just two years later, that number had sunk to 35 percent. Much like in Philadelphia, Chicago criminals who are arrested on a felony firearms charge \u2014 and are then prosecuted, and then get convicted \u2014 still have a two-out-of-three chance of never seeing a jail cell. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luc.edu\/media\/lucedu\/ccj\/pdfs\/firearmpossessionsentencinginillinois.pdf?utm_source=The+Trace+mailing+list&amp;utm_campaign=ef94f3e88b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_24_04_06_COPY_01&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_f76c3ff31c-ef94f3e88b-112434573\">So reports the Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy, and Practice at Loyola<\/a> (CCJRP).\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/chicago-violence.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"First responders move a shooting victim to an ambulance on Adams Street near State Street in downtown Chicago.\" class=\"wp-image-22495840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/chicago-violence.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/chicago-violence.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/chicago-violence.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Nearly <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/graphics.suntimes.com\/homicides\/\">230 people have been killed by gun violence <\/a>in Chicago this year, a city where almost two-thirds of suspects arrested on felony arms charges are never sent to jail.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The reason for that decline is that even while Illinois is working to make it more difficult for federally licensed firearms dealers and their customers to conduct their perfectly legal business, the state has actually loosened up its gun laws as they apply to felony offenses involving firearms, making more offenders eligible for probation rather than jail time.<\/p>\n<p>These are not dumb kids making a single bad decision. In Illinois, more than <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.luc.edu\/media\/lucedu\/ccj\/pdfs\/IllinoisGunPosessionArrestBulletinjuly2020%5B9718%5D.pdf\">80 percent of those arrested on gun charges had a prior criminal arrest, between half and two-thirds of them for a violent crime<\/a>, according to the aforementioned CCJRPP at Loyola. What\u2019s more, half of them had already been convicted of a felony \u2013 one in four of a violent felony.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you are a gun-toting criminal, the odds are on your side: In Illinois, the clearance rate (meaning the percentage of cases that result in an arrest) for gun crimes short of murder is less than 33 percent\u2014and the remarkable and shocking fact is that 33 percent is not a particularly a bad number compared to other states.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Uncle Sam does not do any better. Every felon arrested with a firearm anywhere in the United States is guilty of a felony under federal law\u2014and a felon-in-possession charge comes with a potential 10-year sentence. But, in practice, very few felons with guns end up serving those 10 years, because the federal government rarely prosecutes these cases unless the arresting agency is federal. Nationwide, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ussc.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/pdf\/research-and-publications\/quick-facts\/Felon_In_Possession_FY18.pdf\">only about 6,000-7,000 of these cases are prosecuted federally every year<\/a>\u2014about half the number of illegal guns taken off the streets in Chicago alone in a typical year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ted-cruz.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Ted Cruz speaks during the National Rifle Association annual convention.\" class=\"wp-image-22495854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ted-cruz.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ted-cruz.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/ted-cruz.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Texas Senator Ted Cruz speaks at the NRA\u2019s annual convention last month. Although pro-gun groups are blamed by many for facilitating easy access to firearms, the data suggests otherwise. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And so it goes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>New York is not the only city with a catch-and-release problem. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/investigations\/capital-murder-suspects-bonding-out-of-jail\/285-828fb5f0-dede-4a7e-97f7-df30bf2207f9\">In Houston<\/a>, 113 of the 407 people arrested on <em>capital murder<\/em> charges between 2016 and 2021 were set free on bail, and 27 percent of them were arrested for another crime while out and about waiting trial for capital murder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, back at licensed gun dealers, the only crime commonly taking place is \u201cstraw buying,\u201d meaning\u00a0 when someone with a clean record buys a gun for somebody who can\u2019t legally purchase one. We almost never prosecute those cases at either the local or the federal level. From 2007-2017, Chicago made 27,000 arrests for illegal possession of a firearm<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/gun-trafficking-charges-illinois\">, but only 142 arrests for illegal gun sales (straw buying, trafficking, etc.) over the course of that entire decade<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can lambast the NRA and the guys in camouflage pants down at the local shooting range all day, but they aren\u2019t the ones who are responsible for America\u2019s persistent gun violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We know who is committing the most serious violent crime: habitual criminals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But our political leaders aren\u2019t willing to do anything about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Kevin D. Williamson is the author of \u201cBig White Ghetto: Dead Broke, Stone-Cold Stupid, and High on Rage in the Dank Woolly Wilds of the \u2018Real America.\u2019\u201d<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/06\/04\/why-improving-gun-related-convictions-would-solve-gun-crime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Why improving gun-related convictions would solve gun crime&#8221; When it comes to gun-control debates, most legislative proposals put forward by Democrats focus either on further restricting federally licensed firearms dealerships \u2014 or on adding new regulations for gun shows. It\u2019s the same debate, over and over: What kinds of guns can gun shops sell? Who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":457759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/nra-annual-meeting-lori-lightfoot.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[129919,92246,73442],"class_list":["post-457758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-6-4-22","tag-gun-control","tag-school-shootings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}