Suchergebnisse

Policy analysis has failed to guide gun control policy out of its impasse because analysts have avoided facing several crucial features of the current situation: the existence of widely held values favoring the possession of guns in the US; limitations on public agencies' ability to enforce restraints on possession of handguns; & the possession of large numbers of guns by the public. These factors greatly reduce the possibility that effective measures will be introduced to reduce the existing supply of guns. At the same time, some improvements are possible, notably through establishment of restrictions on carrying guns in major cities & utilization of police resources to enforce them. Modified HA.

Gun control policies must strike a balance be tween conserving legitimate use of handguns and reducing criminal use. Current federal law seeks to accomplish this ob jective by discriminating between safe and unsafe gun owners —allowing the former and prohibiting the latter from owning guns. An important practical problem soon arises: containing guns within the entitled sector. Analysis of the current supply system suggests that gun offenders acquire guns from many different sources: purchases from licensed dealers, private transfers, thefts, and black markets. Among these, legitimate purchases seem most important in supplying assaulters, and thefts seem to be the most important in supplying armed robbers. The "black market" turns out to be difficult to dis tinguish from the other sectors. To the extent it is distinct, it seems to be populated primarily by small-scale, imper manent enterprises, rather than durable firms. Analysis of how existing institutions might be deployed against this system leads to the conclusion that local enforcement capacities and federal regulatory efforts are the most important operational capacities to develop. Federal criminal investigation capa bilities are important only for limited purposes.

To control violence committed among strangers in public locations, police departments have increasingly turned to tactics of "directed patrol" focused on particular dangerous places or activities. Arguably, a suitable focus for directed patrol is illegal carrying or possession of weapons in public locations. Questions arise concerning the methods of weapons enforcement, the effectiveness of such a focus, and its administrative feasibility. Preliminary results of em pirical investigations into police practices with respect to weapons enforcement reveal that weapons arrests typically occur as a by-product of other enforcement activities and that the most important factor determining aggregate levels of weapons arrests is the general proactivity of the police department. Further, some empirical results suggest that police departments can shift to proactive strategies—and increase the level of weapons arrests—without dramatically changing the demographic characteristics of those arrested. Crucial unanswered questions include the effectiveness of such a strategy in reducing violent crime and the adminis trative means of changing police strategies against weapons offenses.

To control violence committed among strangers in public locations, police departments have increasingly turned to tactics of "directed patrol" focused on particular dangerous places or activities. Arguably, a suitable focus for directed patrol is illegal carrying or possession of weapons in public locations. Questions arise concerning the methods of weapons enforcement, the effectiveness of such a focus, & its administrative feasibility. Preliminary results of empirical investigations into police practices with respect to weapons enforcement reveal that weapons arrests typically occur as a by-product of other enforcement activities & that the most important factor determining aggregate levels of weapons arrests is the general proactivity of the police department. Further, some empirical results suggest that police departments can shift to proactive strategies -- & increase the level of weapons arrests -- without dramatically changing the demographic characteristics of those arrested. Crucial unanswered questions include the effectiveness of such a strategy in reducing violent crime & the administrative means of changing police strategies against weapons offenses. 3 Tables. HA.

The basic purpose of supply reduction efforts is to influence the relative cost and availability of abuse-able drugs. In designing supply reduction efforts, one must decide which drugs produce the greatest social problems, and how the supply of each drug can be most effectively reduced. A review of the current situation suggests that supply reduction efforts should be shifted to concentrate more on heroin, barbiturates, and amphetamines. Unfortunately, analysis reveals that effective control of these different drugs requires remarkably diverse organizational capabilities. The control of heroin depends on a capacity to make conspiracy cases against international dealers. The control of barbiturates depends on an increased capacity to prevent diversion from legitimate domestic distribution. And the control of amphetamines requires effective action against small scale illegal importation from Mexico, diversion from domestic distribution, and illegal domestic production. To handle these diverse problems, DEA must be given time to develop and deploy a variety of professional capabilities besides undercover agents.