10/25/2006

Thanks for the cite, but . . .

Thanks for the cite, but I don't think that the point is this simple. My research also finds that police are the single moset important factor, and multiple factors can be true at the same time, and indeed I believe that is the case. That said, I am glad that so many permits have been issued in that county. The decision to issue in Alabama is a county issue and off the top of my head I believe that those probably go through the sheriff's office.

Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran, a heavy favorite to be elected to the position he was appointed to in June, has said that he is campaigning on the success he had as Mobile police chief from 1996 until earlier this year.

Now, with the election less than two weeks away, Cochran's opponent, Democrat Matt Tew, is questioning that success. . . . .

Cochran has a financial advantage over Tew, having raised $173,370 for the race, compared to $18,550 for Tew, as of the latest filing deadline in September.

Cochran said the national average of violent crime dropped 27 percent, and Mobile Police Department programs "made up the difference" between that figure and the 47 percent drop in violent crime in Mobile.

Tew's campaign manager, Milton Morrow, said the decrease in Mobile crime can be attributed to an increase in pistol permits in Mobile County. Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Kate Johnson said there were 18,320 permits in 1996, compared with 23,870 issued in 2005.

Morrow cited a 1997 study by John R. Lott, Jr., author of "More Guns, Less Crime" and "The Bias Against Guns," who concluded that "allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes."

1 Comments:

Blogger Rail Claimore said...

One of the things I love about living in Alabama is the fact that even LEOs and politicians cite an increase in pistol permits as part of the reason for decreases in crime.

I think I remember reading something last year about the mayor of Montgomery publically recommending that residents pack heat for their own protection amid an increase in crime that occured. Leaders here in Huntsville voiced the same recommendations.

10/26/2006 3:10 AM  

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