Reducing Police Shootings: A Look at Albuquerque Police Department Shootings

Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns. http://www.law.lib.uchicago.edu/faculty/lott/guncont.html. Friday, Jan. 17, 1997. Sterba, James P. Morality in Practice. San Francisco: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1997 Sugarmann, Josh.

In addition to being more frequent, the incidents also seem to be getting more deadly. In fact, of the 12 deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history (each of which killed 12 or more), seven have occurred since 2007 (“Deadliest U.S. Shootings”). Indeed, if their entire recorded history is taken into account, the recent numbers certainly show a sharp spike in number of incidents and deaths, as only 21 total shootings occurred between 1900 and 1966 (Duwe). When further investigating these numerous shootings, one can discern several... ... middle of paper ... .... "U.S. Has More Guns – And Gun Deaths – Than Any Other Country, Study Finds." ABC News.

The same night about 15 minutes later on 1400 block of Oak Street NW, a 22 year old man was shot in the face and was partially blinded. His shooting was dismissed because of objectivity. On February 26, 1993, three days following the first shooting a man burst in a barbershop and murdered a customer with his shotgun. This was James Swann’s first slaying. Once again, police brushed the case off assuming it was drug related.

In “After Tucson: Why are the mentally ill still bearing arms?,” author Nathan Thornburgh (2011) discusses the January 8, 2011 shooting of 19 people at a political event in Tucson, Arizona which left six dead and congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords severely wounded. Thornburgh is quick to dismiss gun control and gun rights advocates’ reactions to the event but instead focuses solely on gunman, Jared Loughner’s, mental illness. Specifically, Thornburgh blames college officials, and other organizations for not reporting their contacts with Loughner, and blames the lack of compliance by states with laws regarding the reporting of mental illness to a federal database. Thornburgh fails to provide proof that Loughner was mentally ill, and does not show how any agency or person neglected their duty in addressing Loughner’s alleged mental illness. Finally, Thornburgh does not show how non-compliance with current laws about mental illness and gun ownership is relevant to the outcome of that tragic day, and he fails to consider other probable and complex causes that may have contributed to the Tucson tragedy.

“Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,”, Journal of Legal Studies v.26, no.1, pages 1-68, January 1997. Web. 20 April 2014 Murray, Sara. “Guns in the Parking Lot: A Delicate Workplace Issue”. The Wall Street Journal.

The jury was required to answer two questions: (1) did the defendant know what he was doing when he committed the crime? Or (2) did the... ... middle of paper ... ...rieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1494&context=ilj Lally, S. (1997, November 23). Drawing a Clear Line Between Criminals and the Criminally Insane. The Washington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/aron/expert1123.htm Scott, S. (n.d.).

The state of Arizona came in better than expected ranking at number 36 for an average over four different years. What some residents may find disturbing regarding the research is that upon review of the tables Arizona has steadily been moving up on the list every year for corruption. In 2002 Arizona was ranked at 43, in 2006 it ranked at 37, and in 2008 it jumped all the way up to 30. Their research covers all governments from municipal to state and the police are the ones that enforce the laws that these corrupt governments are in charge of. ("The Most Corrupt States").

I discovered that many young children at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut had been shot and died. I was saddened because of those children and parents who had to live through that experience. Later through the week I kept watching the news for more information. The news Investigators revealed the man's name as twenty year old Adam Lanza and found out that he may have had mental health issues but apparently no one noticed or detected it. Friends and family only described him as a bright young man who was shy and kept to himself.

Yesterday will go down in history as another tragedy at Fort Hood in Texas. Four people were killed and at least sixteen were wounded in a shooting on post yesterday. Per http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/official-shooting-reported-at-fort-hood/nfQyw/, one of the fatalities was the shooter himself as he turned the gun on himself as he was approached by military police. It seems as though the shooting occurred due to an ongoing personal dispute, however there is no actual known motive and terrorism has not yet been ruled out. It has been mentioned that due to possible PTSD, the soldier was suffering various mental and behavioral issues.

Recently, residents in certain areas are living in danger, because they might be the next victim in the gunfights. To tell the truth, guns bring negative effects to the residents in the United States, where most of all the suicides are committed with guns, especially use it by teens. Moreover, lack of treatment and background check for mentally ill is the leading cause of massacre, where once happened in the Virginia Tech University. Likewise, misuse of gun by youth might be considered a threat to the residents, which increase the homicide rate in the United States. Overall, the U.S has become an unsafe environment for American citizens, where its death rate is ten times higher than any other developed nations.