The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 31, 2010

Our View: Gun law project needed to stem crime

The Free Press

MANKATO — An effort to crack down on felons who buy guns and those who supply them is long overdue and should be welcomed by anyone concerned about public safety in Minnesota.

Law enforcement and prosecutors in Minneapolis last week announced the establishment of a program called Project Exile that will move cases of felons using and possessing guns to federal courts where they can be prosecuted more vigorously and jailed for longer periods of time.

It’s a joint effort between Minneapolis police, the Hennepin County Attorney, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Prosecutors will begin by reviewing hundreds of gun cases and then choosing which to move to federal court.

The program was first operated in Richmond, Va., in 1997 and resulted in a significant drop in crime. It’s also used in Baltimore. Atlanta has a similar program called FACE 5 — for Firearms in Atlanta Can Equal 5 Years.

The Minnesota program is prompted in part by an exponential increase in Minneapolis killings. Already this year, the 31 killings exceed last year’s total of 19. Illegal gun seizures are up 32 percent. Violent crime is up 3 percent. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office dealt with 150 gun-related cases last year while the U.S. attorney is dealing with 44.

Prosecutors will look at the most dangerous and prevalent offenders using guns and move them to federal prosecution where sentences can be up to 15 years. Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan noted that a similar program used in the 1990s was effective at getting guns off the streets. That ultimately had an impact on crime and violence.

The human cost of these crimes is serious and growing. Small children are killed in the line of gang battles. Felons commit crimes again and again, getting guns with ease. Minneapolis police responded to about 100 calls of shootings since Jan. 1.

ATF will be involved to mostly track down so-called “clean” people who serve as straw buyers supplying felons with guns. One such man was arrested earlier this year in Medford, a bedroom community near Owatonna. He was accused of supplying hundreds of guns to suspected drug dealers in the U.S. and Mexico.

As long as guns are a good business, people will find ways to supply them to those who demand and pay the right price.

Increasing prosecution and the severity of penalties should raise the price and risk for felons thinking about possessing a gun. If nothing else, a longer prison sentence will keep them off the streets for a few more years. But Project Exile will serve as a badly needed solution to the growing problem of gun violence.

 

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