Word: guns
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...Gun-control groups point to Project Exile as evidence that Congress--which last week postponed action again on modest new gun regulations--is out of step with states and cities that are moving aggressively against gun crime. But the National Rifle Association endorses Project Exile for another reason, saying it proves that vigorous enforcement of existing laws can thwart criminals without new controls on law-abiding gun owners...
...years ago, Richmond's homicide rate was second only to that of Gary, Ind. Gun toting had become pervasive in the city's poorer neighborhoods. Says James Comey, criminal-division chief in the local U.S. Attorney's office: "People carried guns because gun-possession crimes were not treated as anything more than a misdemeanor. What might have been a fistfight or stabbing 20 years ago was a shootout because everybody had a gun in his pocket...
...response, Comey and his boss, U.S. Attorney Helen Fahey, launched Project Exile in partnership with Richmond police chief Jerry Oliver and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The new procedure: anytime Richmond police found a gun on a drug dealer, user, convicted felon or suspect in a violent crime, the case would be tried under federal statutes that carry mandatory sentences of at least five years without parole--and longer for repeated or aggravated offenses...
...spread the word in high-crime neighborhoods, the slogan AN ILLEGAL GUN GETS YOU 5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON was emblazoned on billboards, flyers and city buses. The Martin Agency, an advertising firm based in Richmond, designed a slick TV campaign aimed at changing the psychology of the underworld. "It was niche marketing to the bad guys," says Oliver. "They all know the name Exile. We hit on a label that explains what it does, which is get them out of the community...
...worked. Murders in Richmond dropped sharply, from 140 in 1997 to 94 in 1998 and 32 in the first six months of 1999. Armed robberies showed a similar decline. As of June 18, the Exile task force had won long prison sentences for 279 gun-carrying criminals. Says Fahey: "We've taken them off the streets...