Mayors meet on illegal guns

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg – who has made gun control a cornerstone of his administration – hosted the first-ever Mayors’ Summit on Illegal Guns.
Held at Gracie Mansion, the summit brought together 15 mayors from around the country to discuss the problem of illegal guns and share strategies on how to combat it. The mayors discussed cutting-edge policing strategies, legislative opportunities and the unique initiatives being undertaken across the country on this issue.
“New York City is America’s safest big city and it’s my responsibility to ensure that we do everything possible to make it even safer,” said Bloomberg. “The fight against illegal guns is one that reaches beyond our borders and today’s summit opens the dialogue with leaders across this country that have made safety in their neighborhoods and on their streets a top priority.”
The mayors also pledged to initiate joint lobbying against harmful federal legislation and begin possible companion litigation against rogue gun dealers.
They identified a number of specific issues on which they could work together. These include working with local law enforcement agencies and state representatives to maximize penalties for those who possess, use, and traffic in illegal guns, as well as to work together to better share information and strategies for holding the worst gun dealers accountable for their actions.
At the forum, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly spoke on specific New York City Police Department (NYPD) initiatives including Operation Impact – a patrol-based initiative that saturates areas of the city where shootings and robberies are disproportionately higher with an influx of new, uniformed police officers teamed with veteran supervisors.
The Commissioner spoke about new policing initiatives including the establishment of a Firearms Suppression Division that elevates the status of gun crime investigations to the same level as narcotics and major auto crime. Within this division the NYPD is also creating a Gun Enhancement Unit composed of detectives with expertise in this area to debrief suspects in all felony crimes involving guns, and generally to enhance these cases.
“The fact is that New York City remains a popular destination for illegal guns smuggled here by traffickers from out of state,” said Kelly. “Anything we can do to curtail this flow at a national level will be a huge benefit, which is why this summit is very good news.”
“The New York City Police Department alone can’t shut down the iron pipeline, nor can the police departments of the cities represented here today…we need a broad national commitment to do it,” Kelly added.
The Commissioner also briefed the mayors on the new surveillance system deployed by the NYPD. The cameras, used by Borough Commanders to monitor crime “hot spots” are mounted on utility poles, easily visible to the public and moveable to other sites. Officers on patrol are able to monitor and manipulate certain cameras remotely with specially configured laptop computers installed in their cars.
In addition to discussing new technology in the fight against illegal guns, Commissioner Kelly also spoke on how increased rewards to the public for information have resulted in 3,100 tips, 2,000 arrests and the seizure of 1,200 guns in the last four years.