Detroit Police Chief: Legal Gun Ownership Can Help Stop Crime

 In a city plagued by crime and guarded by a dwindling police force, residents of Detroit are increasingly taking protection of themselves, their families and property into their own hands. Those who do so responsibly have the support of Detroit Police Chief James Craig, reports Fox News.

Chief Craig gave his public blessing to private gun ownership back in December, 2013, and in 2014 some 1,169 handgun permits were issued, while 8,102 guns were registered with city police - many to prior permit holders who bought new firearms. So for in 2015, nearly 500 permits have issued by the department and more than 5,000 guns have been registered.

“When you look at the city of Detroit, we’re kind of leading the way in terms of urban areas with law-abiding citizens carrying guns,” Craig said recently.

Firearms instructor Rick Ector said, "There’s definitely been a 'Chief Craig' effect.” Ector and other instructors have seen a steady rise in locals looking to get a permit, to protect themselves either on the street or in their homes.

“Home invasions have gone down,” he said. “A huge reason was that there was a huge spate of homeowners using their guns against intruders. More people have guns and it’s making burglars cautious.”

with a population of about 680,000, some 83 percent of which is African-American, Detroit's growing embrace of Second Amendment rights has a racial component that is not unique to the city. According to a recent survey from Pew Research Center, 54 percent of African-American residents nationwide now see legal gun ownership as more likely to protect people than to put their safety at risk. That figure was up from 29 percent two years ago.

“If anyone should have the right or need to carry a gun, it should be the African-American community,” says Philip Smith, founder of the National African American Gun Association.​

Detroit resident Darrell Standberry, who in 2011 used a handgun to kill a career criminal who tried to steal his car and kill him, says,

“I never leave home without my weapon,” he said. “You never know when or what you’ll encounter.”

 Via Truth Revolt

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[VIDEO] Baltimore's Next Police Chief Faces Demoralized Department

Baltimore's next police commissioner will have a daunting to-do list: quell a surge in homicides, rebuild trust between officers and the public, win the confidence of a demoralized and alienated department, and keep the peace when the explosive Freddie Gray case comes to trial.

"It's the toughest job in the United States at the moment," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and a former New York City police officer.

Commissioner Anthony Batts was fired by the mayor on Wednesday, less than three months after riots erupted over Gray's death from a spinal injury the 25-year-old black man suffered while being bounced around the back of a moving police van. Six officers are awaiting trial in October on charges ranging up to murder.

"You have a confluence of factors: You have an ongoing criminal case that's traumatic for everybody. You have the specter of riots. For the police union and officers, they're alienated, and the concern is that the cops will be further alienated," O'Donnell said. "You need a chief who can, first and foremost, drive everyone toward common ground."

In dismissing Batts, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said his approach was too divisive and his presence too damaging.

Just hours before his firing, in a sign that the 2,800-officer department's rank-and-file had lost confidence in Batts, the police union issued a report blasting his response to the looting, arson and vandalism that broke out April 27. The report said Batts discouraged officers from wearing protective gear and told them not to engage with rioters. Roughly 200 officers were injured during the unrest.

"The officers characterized the Baltimore Police Department's leadership during the riots as unprepared, politically motivated and uncaring and confusing," said Gene Ryan, president of the police union.

Batts' standing was further damaged by soaring bloodshed in the city in the weeks after the riots.

In May, Baltimore saw its biggest surge in homicides in four decades, while arrests dropped by half compared with the same period a year earlier. The city's homicide total so far this year is 156, a 48 percent increase from the same time last year. And shootings have climbed 86 percent.

Community members have accused police of not doing their jobs in the wake of the Gray arrests. Batts and the police union denied that officers were shirking their duties but acknowledged that police are angry, frustrated and fearful in the wake of the Gray case of being second-guessed and prosecuted.

Peter Moskos, also with John Jay College and a former Baltimore police officer, said the Gray case led police officers to question whether the department had their backs.

"The harm from the Freddie Gray death is it had a chilling effect: Cops were saying, 'That could have been me,'" he said. But he said getting rid of Batts was "a step toward getting things on track."

"Batts was a leader without a following," Moskos said. "If none of the rank and file thinks you're competent, it's as good as being incompetent."

Batts' deputy, Kevin Davis, will serve as interim commissioner until the mayor appoints a permanent replacement. Davis said his first order of business was appointing someone to focus on riot response. Davis added that he would like to remain in the position permanently.

Via: ABC News

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Dem Mayor of One of Massachusetts Largest Cities Declares They Will Now Be A Sanctuary City For Illegal Aliens…

Under an executive order from Mayor Joe Curtatone, Somerville will no longer fully participate in a federal immigrant detention program.

• Page 2 of 3 - In an email statement, he told the Journal ending ICE detainers that happen without probable cause is moral, responsible and just common sense.

  “These are our neighbors and they should not be afraid to report a crime or afraid that they could be separated from their families and deported simply because they get stopped for having a broken tail light,” Curtatone said. He added, “We can’t keep our communities safe unless we have the full cooperation of the full community.”

  Acting Police Chief Charles Femino agreed.

  “In essence, what Secure Communities has done is built a wall between police and the community,” Femino said. He added, “We want to continue to partner with the federal government, but we want to do it in a fair way that’s equal to all citizens.

  Centro Presente Director Patricia Montes said the same.

  Via: Wicked Local Woburn
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