Fear of the Law

Do you fear the cops? Apparently they want you to - at least the ones in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of ‘Fear’

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Springfield’s men in black are returning.

The city’s new police commissioner, William Fitchet, says members of the department’s Street Crime Unit will again don black, military-style uniforms as part of his strategy to deal with youth violence.

Fitchet’s predecessor, Edward Flynn, had ditched the black attire as part of an effort to soften the image of the unit. Flynn left Springfield in January to become the police chief in Milwaukee.

Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals that officers are serious about making arrests.

Delaney said a sense of “fear” has been missing for the past few years.

So it’s no longer about protecting and serving, now you want us to fear you too? Is this really the best image/message they could be sending? The Only One in the news story claims they’re targeting criminals, but I don’t buy that. Don’t criminals already fear the law? The only ones this is going to instill a sense of fear in is the public, and the message is clear.

*sigh*

I’ll post some later, it’s almost Hog Feeding Time.

(h/t) Sharp as a Marble

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Just for fun!

Here’s a picture of Al Gore in Vietnam looking down the barrel of his M16. In fairness, the magazine is out and the bolt is probably back, but it’s still funny.

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New Poll

There’s a new poll up. I’m interested in finding out what national pro-rights organization you belong to. You may select as many as apply. If I forgot one, let me know in comments.

Thanks!

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Firearm Ownership vs. Murder Rate

That last post got me to thinking about what the gun ownership in the states listed meant in regards to the murder rate. So I did some research. What I found intrigued me. The internet really is a great tool, just like a good 1911 in .45 ACP.

Below is the rough data followed by some graphs. The Brady Score is from last year while the gun ownership, and murder rate per 100,000 figures are both from 2001.

Here are my sources:

BRFSS (via The Washington Post)
FBI UCR (prepared by The Disaster Center)

Here’s the raw data:

State          Brady Score  Gun Ownership  Homocide Rate
                            %              (per 100,000)

Kentucky        2           47.7            4.4
Oklahoma        2           42.9            5.3
Alaska          4           57.8            6.2
Louisiana       4           44.1           11.2
Missouri        4           41.7            6.6
North Dakota    4           50.7            1.1
Utah            4           43.9            2.9
Mississippi     5           55.3            9.9
Arizona         6           31.1            7.5
Arkansas        6           55.3            5.5
Idaho           6           55.3            2.3
New Mexico      6           34.8            5.4
South Dakota    6           56.6             .9
West Virginia   6           55.4            2.2
Kansas          7           42.1            3.4
Tennessee       7           43.9            7.4
Florida         8           24.5            5.3
Indiana         8           39.1            6.7
Montana         8           57.7            3.8
Georgia         9           40.3            7.1
Texas           9           35.9            6.2
Vermont         9           42.0            1.1
Nebraska       10           38.6            2.5
Minnesota      11           41.7            2.4
Nevada         11           33.8            8.6
New Hampshire  11           30.0            1.3
South Carolina 11           42.3            8.1
Wyoming        11           59.7            1.8
Maine          12           40.5            1.5
Wisconsin      12           44.4            3.6
Ohio           13           32.4            4.0
Alabama        15           51.7            8.5
Connecticut    15           16.7            3.1
Colorado       16           34.7            3.6
Iowa           16           42.8            1.7
Oregon         18           39.8            2.4
Virginia       18           35.1            5.1
Washington     18           33.1            3.0
North Carolina 20           41.3            6.2
Deleware       22           25.5            2.9
Michigan       22           38.4            6.7
Pennsylvania   26           34.7            5.3
Illinois       28           20.2           10.0
Hawaii         43            8.7            2.6
Rhode Island   47           12.8            3.7
New York       51           18.0            5.0
Maryland       53           21.3            8.3
Massachusetts  54           12.6            2.2
New Jersey     63           12.3            3.9
California     79           21.3            6.4
The District    *            3.8           40.3

Here’s a chart showing the relationship between gun ownership and the murder rate. The data was sorted by murder rate and the gun ownership rate was divided by 10 to make the graph easier to read. Note, while the murder rate climbs, the gun ownership rate is all over the place.

Here is the inverse of the first graph. Note how as the gun ownership numbers rise, the murder rate is all over the place.

What does this mean? Well, with the notable exception of Washington D.C. (where exceptionally low gun ownership is paired with an astronomical murder rate), gun ownership and the murder rate have virtually nothing to do with each other. This means that attempts by certain groups to draw parallels between gun ownership and high crime are based in nothing but pure imagination and wishful thinking.

It is not necessary to prove a reduction in crime (I focused on the murder rate alone) to argue the case for the pro-rights side, only that gun ownership had nothing to do with increasing it. From the numbers above, there is no doubt in my mind this is the case.

Interesting.

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The Best States for Gun Owners

Here is a listing of the best states for gun owners to live in, ranked in order of best to worst (as in golf, a smaller score is better). The list is based on the total score only. I stole this data from the Brady Bunch and it reflects the inverse of their rankings (PDF) for 2007. Hey, who’d have thunk it? It turns out they’re good for something after all.

With the exception of Wyoming and Montana not being on the top of the list, there’s no real surprises here. And as I expected, California is dead last.

State          Score

Kentucky        2
Oklahoma        2
Alaska          4
Louisiana       4
Missouri        4
North Dakota    4
Utah            4
Mississippi     5
Arizona         6
Arkansas        6
Idaho           6
New Mexico      6
South Dakota    6
West Virginia   6
Kansas          7
Tennessee       7
Florida         8
Indiana         8
Montana         8
Georgia         9
Texas           9
Vermont         9
Nebraska       10
Minnesota      11
Nevada         11
New Hampshire  11
South Carolina 11
Wyoming        11
Maine          12
Wisconsin      12
Ohio           13
Alabama        15
Connecticut    15
Colorado       16
Iowa           16
Oregon         18
Virginia       18
Washington     18
North Carolina 20
Deleware       22
Michigan       22
Pennsylvania   26
Illinois       28
Hawaii         43
Rhode Island   47
New York       51
Maryland       53
Massachusetts  54
New Jersey     63
California     79

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