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VA: Program Offers $250 Reward for tips on Illegally Possessed Guns
Gun Watch ^ | 10 March, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 03/21/2016 7:54:24 PM PDT by marktwain


The Richmond Police Department is trying an innovative approach to reduce violent crime.  Because the policy targets people who are not allowed to own guns, it might have positive effects. 

David Kennedy has shown that most murders are committed by a very small group of violent individuals, usually associated with gangs and/or drug trafficking.  Identifying and focusing on those individuals has been shown to drastically reduce the murder rate.  One of the methods used to do this is to encourage people to turn in violent felons who illegally possess firearms.  Richmond Virginia has decided to run with this idea. From richmondgov.com:

From: Detective Rashaan Wigfall and Detective John Flores

Number: 16-10
Date of Release: 03/07/2016

This month Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers began a new program that will help reduce gun violence. This program is known as “The Gun250 Tip Program”. This initiative will help reduce gun violence by allowing law enforcement to use tips provided by you the public.

This program encourages members of the community to submit tips related to illegal firearms and provides a cash reward of up to $250 should the information lead to the recovery of the firearm or the arrest of an offender.

Gun250 is not a “buy-back” program. The program let’s concerned citizens know that they can easily provide information related to illegally-possessed guns, all while remaining completely anonymous. You will be given a unique tip number in order to protect your identity.

If you have information on an illegal gun you can call Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 and reference Gun250. You can also text your information to “274637” using the keyword “Gun250” followed by your tip, or you can submit your tip online at http://www.780-1000.com

It is easy, safe, and completely anonymous.

We don’t have to know who you are to know who they are.
This is an idea that may have positive results.  I suspect that there are safeguards in place to prevent someone from gaming the system.  Even though the system is anonymous, if a number of recently stolen guns starts turning up, and being recovered stashed in various out of the way spots, payouts may not be forth coming.  $250 is likely a decent price for a stolen, beat up, single barrel shotgun, or .22 rifle.

Most people believe that felons with a long, violent, record should be prohibited from possessing arms.  This program offers a real means of pursuing that objective.  So far, few people know about the program, but there are attempts to promote it.  From wtvr.com:
Richmond Councilman Chis Hilbert said he believed the police department should be able to promote the program better than it is currently being promoted.

"Offering people $250 to call in tips about the illegal gun. If we can afford that, we can have money to promote this program," he said.

Hilbert said if it meant informational flyers had to come out of his budget, so be it. He also said he was willing to deliver the message to his Northside constituents, many of them have already reached out to him questioning the violent crime.
This is not a gun "buy back".  It is targeted at a specific group.  There are dangers, of course, that people who are illegal possessors because of convictions from long ago, might be targeted. It seems unlikely that they would be caught up in this net.  How would anyone know that they are prohibited possessors?

This will be an interesting program to watch, especially if it gets much exposure.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Link to Gun Watch


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: 2a; banglist; crime; criminal; firearm; gun; police; projectexile; richmond; turnin; va
Targeting violent criminals reduces crime.
1 posted on 03/21/2016 7:54:25 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

....until the perps find out who ratted on them.


2 posted on 03/21/2016 8:01:01 PM PDT by Doogle (( USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..nevere store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: marktwain

Oakland has been doing this for years, but they offer $5,000! Here is an old article which makes a few points....

“At least 535 illegal firearms have been recovered in Oakland since the beginning of the year (up to July 27.....)

....the ATF offers whistleblowers a $5,000 reward for information leading to either an arrest or prosecution of a crime involving the reported firearms.

So far, no one has collected payment for a tip.....due to the lack of a system to distinguish between firearms confiscated during routine policing operations and those recovered as a result of public tip-offs....”

https://oaklandnorth.net/2012/07/27/oakland-police-recover-535-illegal-firearms-amid-calls-for-more-resources/

So, it sounds to me like the police are mostly finding illegal guns the old fashioned way. The rewards don’t seem to have had much effect. And Oakland sure doesn’t seem any safer.


3 posted on 03/21/2016 8:10:50 PM PDT by JoeDetweiler
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To: marktwain

The great fashion is, “No person is illegal” —I never really could feel the illogic the people shrieking that slogan.

But this “illegal GUN” verbiage is bizzarre.

I just can’t get the very concept into my head.

SOUNDS WEIRD, at least like there is begging to be some, “No GUN is illegal” type slogan.

Illegally POSSESSED by a felon? Well, sure!

But an ILLEGAL GUN —it just doesn’t compute for me.


4 posted on 03/21/2016 8:13:11 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: gaijin
But this “illegal GUN” verbiage is bizzarre.

Which means the REAL purpose of this program is probably to start normalizing the phrase and concept.

5 posted on 03/21/2016 8:18:39 PM PDT by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
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To: Talisker
the REAL purpose of this program is probably to start normalizing the phrase and concept

You know, that is EXACTLY what I'd been thinking..!

"A gun illegally converted to full auto" --we're FAMILIAR with that, yes, but it's far too ungainly for the left to really use it as a vehicle for any kind of attack.

To really make it into a TOOL, terms have to be shrunk down to atomized nuggets so tight that even slobbering fools staggering around with wet spots on their trousers can remember them.

So they put ILLEGAL smack dab next to GUN, making a nice concept.

And then that will be repeated 10 trillion times, so much than when people hear plain ole GUN, well their mind will automatically back track and then somehow FILL IN the missing ILLEGAL part.

Like some Pavlovian dog-slobbering.

"gun" --> ILLEGAL..!!!!!!!

I think this is also the strategy behind use of the term, "gun violence".

6 posted on 03/21/2016 8:27:22 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: marktwain

Turning America into a police state training the ignorant sheeple to become snitches — just like in communist and. Nazi dictatorships. Also of course : The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be Infringed


7 posted on 03/21/2016 8:28:15 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 -- 43 BCE))
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To: marktwain
1. Snitching gets one killed "in the hood".

2. Most Americans, brainwashed by the media, believe most guns are "illegal". Hence, the police will get calls on open carriers, concealed carriers who 'print', and others whom they want to "get" because they feel "unsafe".

I doubt any good comes from any anonymous snitch program like this.

8 posted on 03/21/2016 8:59:24 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (AMERICA IS DONE! When can we start over?)
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To: faithhopecharity

Most Americans cannot quote the text of the 2nd Amendment. Led by the media, they believe most if not all guns are not registered and are therefore illegal. It’s in all the cop shows on every channel on the boob toob.


9 posted on 03/21/2016 9:02:01 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (AMERICA IS DONE! When can we start over?)
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To: marktwain

The only people who are gonna get turned in are your neighbors.

People around here call the police all the time about known drug dealing and the cops do zero, so why in the heck would the cops suddenly do anything about reports of illegal guns unless they can make an easy and safe arrest of some harmless Harvey Milktoast?


10 posted on 03/21/2016 9:23:16 PM PDT by catnipman (Cat Nipman: Vote Republican in 2012 and only be called racist one more time!)
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To: backwoods-engineer

The boob toob has indeed contributed greatly to the boobificaation of America.

Valdimir Zworkin, perhaps the chief inventor of modern television technology, dreampt that it would provide each person with access (right in his own home) to great culture, opera, symphony, art, and education, etc.
After everyone got TV’s, Zworkin was quoted as saying that.. .had he known what mindless pap (my wording) would come dominate the airwaves, he would have “smashed every prototype vacuum tube in his laboratory”

and of course a bit later we had the FCC chairman Newton Minnow observe that TV programming was a “vast wasteland’

(and its been pretty much downhill from there)


11 posted on 03/21/2016 9:40:01 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 -- 43 BCE))
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To: gaijin
But this “illegal GUN” verbiage is bizzarre.

Had the same perplexed/disgusted reaction about 2 milliseconds after reading that phrase.

Regards,

12 posted on 03/21/2016 10:08:13 PM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: marktwain

Snitches get stitches.


13 posted on 03/21/2016 11:27:15 PM PDT by JimRed (Is it 1776 yet? TERM LIMITS, now and forever! Build the Wall, NOW!)
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To: marktwain

Why would they bother with this program? It doesn’t help with the real goal, which is disarming law-abiding Americans. All taking guns from criminals would do is cut down on violent crime, which would weaken the case for disarming all Americans.


14 posted on 03/22/2016 1:23:57 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("A Bill of Rights that means what the majority wants it to meand over an is worthless." - Scalia)
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To: marktwain

Can libtards use this for swatting?


15 posted on 03/22/2016 5:31:43 AM PDT by Fred Hayek (The Democratic Party is now the operational arm of the CPUSA)
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To: Fred Hayek

Yes. That was my first thought.


16 posted on 03/22/2016 5:33:11 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you really want to irritate someone, point out something obvious they are trying hard to ignore.)
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To: marktwain

bkmk


17 posted on 03/22/2016 9:09:53 AM PDT by AllAmericanGirl44
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