http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-28/new-york-city-murders-set-to-reach-46-year-low-kelly-reports.html

That’s what this article alleges, discussing New York’s 19th straight year of decreasing crime rates.

Quote :

"John Feinblatt, the city’s criminal justice coordinator, attributed the decline to laws that increased penalties for illegal possession of a loaded handgun and lawsuits aimed at out-of-state gun dealers who violate rules intended to keep guns out of criminals’ hands. The strategy is “to be as aggressive as possible taking illegal guns off the streets,” Feinblatt said. “Operation Impact,” in which the police department identifies high-crime zones and assigns teams of rookie and veteran police officers, reduced crime by 19 percent in the targeted areas since July, and as much as 30 percent since 2003, when the program began, Kelly said. "

12/28/2009 1:38:47 PM

Seems more like identifying high-crime zones and assigning teams of rookie and veteran police officers is what worked.

12/28/2009 1:43:45 PM

that certainly helped, but as the guy they quoted seems to indicate, that didn’t take it all the way.

12/28/2009 1:45:00 PM

This is sort of disconnected from what is generally considered "gun control" in political rhetoric -- that is, increased regulation on legal gun ownership.

This isn't so much increased gun control as it is simply better enforcement of existing law.

12/28/2009 2:01:03 PM

^

12/28/2009 2:07:26 PM

^^ I didn’t mean to imply that this was “increased” gun control, merely that some NYC official was attributing their gun laws (licensed to sale/operate one, etc.) as contributing to the decreasing crime rate.

But, i’ve seen people argue here on many occasions that even these types of regulations step beyond what should be allowed, are you saying that’s not the case? That there is a “line” of allowable regulation for guns?

12/28/2009 3:02:57 PM

its worked very well for DC. Hardly a crime there.

12/28/2009 3:07:23 PM

How does a law stating "cant sell guns without a license" keep a criminal from selling a gun without a license? The only way you could stop that is to be everywhere a potential illegal gun sale could go down.

Having cops get out on the street, targetting more frequent patrols at high crime areas, and other means of prevention are effective at stopping all crime, not just gun crime. If you make it illegal to concealed carry how can you possibly claim its your concealed carry laws keeping guns off the street without searching everyone on the street.

Claiming gun control is keeping crime down is dishonest shit from some politician looking to score votes with dumb people.

12/28/2009 3:11:26 PM

Quote :

"Bloomberg's push to rid New York City of illegal guns has seen results. The number of guns recovered from crime scenes in the city dropped by 13 percent from last year. The number of people shot to death dropped from 347 in 2007 to 292 in 2008. Overall, murders increased from 2007 to 2008, but only due to an increase in crimes committed with knives. Besides law enforcement initiatives that target high crime areas and gun buy-back programs, New York City has moved to tighten its already strict gun laws. In 2006 the City Council passed legislation that established a gun offender registry, which allowed an individual to purchase only one handgun in a 90-day period, and required gun dealers to inspect their inventory and report inventory losses to the police twice a year. Pistol permits in New York City, unlike those in most other localities in the state, expire every three years and must be renewed. Bloomberg's fight against guns has taken him farther afield. Concerned about the flow of illegal guns into the city in 2006, the mayor authorized private detectives to go to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina to see if dealers illegally evaded gun regulations. In particular, the detectives were investigating whether dealers knowingly took part in so-called "straw purchases," where one person fills out a gun background check but then gives the gun to another person. As a result of the sting, the city filed lawsuits against 27 gun dealers. Bloomberg's strategy ruffled the feathers of Virginia politicians, who moved to pass legislation to ban this type of investigation, and of gun enthusiasts, who held gun raffles and giveaways in Bloomberg's honor. "

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/iotw/20090518/200/2911

an interesting side note… it looks like when it comes to guns, some states will pass laws to protect illegal activity from being discovered, but when it comes to illegal immigrants, they are all just criminals?

12/28/2009 3:40:39 PM

Violent crime is on a downward trend throughout the US despite a rise in gun ownership. That a political appointee would kowtow to his boss' very aggressive and very public campaign against legal gun ownership is neither surprising nor evidence that said regulation works.

12/28/2009 4:29:25 PM