cuchulainn
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from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
http://www.wcfcourier.com/topnews/030416gunlaws.html
http://www.wcfcourier.com/topnews/030416gunlaws.html
Officials taking tough stand against gun violations
By JEFF REINITZ
Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO - Seventy percent of all gun crimes in the northern half of Iowa occur in three counties, and Black Hawk County is one of them.
That was part of the reason the U.S. attorney for Iowa's Northern District was in town this morning to unveil an advertising blitz. The message: Authorities are getting aggressive on firearm violations.
"In cooperation with our state and local partners, we will make sure that criminals with guns are prosecuted in the toughest forum, where they will do hard time for gun crime," said federal prosecutor Charles Larson Sr.
Larson noted three billboards have gone up in Waterloo -- at University Avenue near Ansborough, Independence Avenue near Mohawk and on West 11th Street near the bridge -- as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.
Billboard messages are also up in the other two high gun-crime counties in north Iowa -- Linn and Woodbury -- as well as Polk, Pottawattamie and Scott counties, which take the honors in the southern half of the state.
The idea behind Safe Neighborhoods is to reduce gun violence in the state by making offenders aware of the price they will pay if caught illegally possessing or using a weapon.
That often means taking a gunman to federal court instead of state court where a conviction means at least five years in prison with no chance of parole.
"We're sending a loud and clear message that if you illegally possess a gun or use a gun to commit a crime in the Waterloo area, you're going to prison and you'll lose your freedom, friends and family for a long time," said Tom Ferguson, Black Hawk County Attorney.
The county attorney's office has one prosecutor who specialized in firearm violations as a special assistant U.S. attorney and has the power to refer the cases to federal court.
Under Safe Neighborhoods, the state will receive $594,544 in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to handle gun crime prosecution.
Other education efforts include public service announcements on television, posters and a videotape that officers and corrections workers can use to inform offenders about gun laws.
Iowa saw an increase in the number of reported crimes involving firearms. There were 1,330 gun-related crimes in 2001, which was up 149 from the years before. It was also the largest since 1998.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/topnews/030416gunlaws.html
