Detroit Police Chief: More People Should Carry Guns
The police chief of crime-ridden, bankrupt Detroit says that more people should carry guns.
In a CNN interview (see embed above), Chief James Craig was quick to point out that he was specifically referring to legal, concealed weapons carried by “good Americans” who are responsible, trained gun owners.
Most police chiefs in urban centers — for political or other reasons — usually climb aboard the gun control bandwagon.
Chief Craig insisted that what he called criminal predators are very violent in the city of Detroit. Given that state of affairs, law-abiding gun owners can make a difference in deterring crime, and there are studies to prove it, he explained. Legal gun ownership “is one strategy in the toolbox,” he said. Added the chief: “The police cannot be everywhere… this is about personal protection.”
Craig admitted that over time he has changed his mind on the gun issue, according to the Detroit News. “When we look at the good community members who have concealed weapons permits, the likelihood they’ll shoot is based on a lack of confidence in this Police Department… Coming from California (Craig was on the Los Angeles police force for 28 years), where it takes an act of Congress to get a concealed weapon permit, I got to Maine, where they give out lots of CCWs (carrying concealed weapon permits), and I had a stack of CCW permits I was denying; that was my orientation. I changed my orientation real quick. Maine is one of the safest places in America. Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed.”
Chief Craig, who has been on the job in Detroit for about six months after recently serving as the Cincinnati police chief, recently unveiled an ambitious action plan to cut crime in the city. The plan includes a 10 percent crime reduction goal, a five-minute 911 response time, and solving 70 percent of murders in the city. He also wants to hire 150 more officers. Violent crime in Detroit dropped seven percent last year, according to municipal statistics.
Last year, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke made headlines by expressing similar pro-gun-ownership sentiments.
[thumbnail image credit: Albert duce]
