Thursday, December 20, 2007

Another brilliant effort to "reduce gun violence."

Database helps track gun violations
LAPD, state Justice Dept. have ID'd ex-convicts, others who illegally possess weapons
.
By Jason Kandel, Staff writer
Article Launched: 12/09/2007 07:02:17 PM PST

Aided by a new database that matches criminal histories with gun owners, state and local law enforcement agents have begun rounding up California's most violent gun-toting felons.
The state Department of Justice and the LAPD have identified 110 fugitives, ex-convicts and other offenders who legally purchased guns, then later were convicted of violent crimes. Some 890 others have been identified across the state.

"Having armed, convicted felons is a risk to public safety," said Wilfredo Cid, the chief of the Bureau of Fireams at the California Attorney General's Office. "Those people do not have a right to carry a weapon."

Prior to the passage of the bill, the state did not have legal authority or technological means to cross-reference this information and investigate people who acquired firearms and subsequently became prohibited from owning them.

In July 2003, the department received more than $1 million to build the database, which ultimately cost a total of $4 million. It became operational in late 2006 and was made fully available to local law enforcement in June.........

The system works by maintaining information about people who have been - or will become - prohibited from possessing a firearm. From their stations, law enforcement agencies across the state can access the database, updated monthly.........

"We applaud the Department of Justice's efforts in ensuring that prohibited persons do not have firearms," Malte said. "This is huge. It is the ultimate law enforcement tool to ensure that criminals with guns are disarmed quickly before something bad happens."

(alas, the only common sense part of the whole article, below)

Chuck Michel, an attorney for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, said gun rights groups originally supported the creation of the program because it was designed to get guns out of the hands of violent criminals and felons.

"The CAPP program is good in theory," Michel said. "In practice, however, there are now so many complicated ways to lose your gun rights over paperwork and minor violations that many lawyers don't understand the system and many people don't even realize they're prohibited.
"Regrettably, CAPP is frequently being misused against these minor offenders who have often been misadvised about their legal status."
*********************************************

Classic Bureauspeak: "This is huge. It is the ultimate law enforcement tool to ensure that criminals with guns are disarmed quickly before something bad happens."..........assuming all these armed criminals are armed with weapons purchased by themselves.....which, of course, they surely are. Surely.

No comments: