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Omaha "Gun Bounty"

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armed and humorous:
I hope you didn't misunderstand me.  I am in no way in favor of the gun bounty program.  The main reason is just what we both said, the money will mostly go to thieves and drug addicts and people who hang around with them.  On the other hand, I am not so sure the aim of CrimeStoppers is what you suggest.  You'd have to show me some evidence of that.  I think it is a well-meaning, though somewhat misguided attempt to get criminals convicted for the crimes they commit.  Nothing wrong with that, is there?  These programs are basically run and funded by private citizens and organizations who choose to sponser them.  I would imagine that many of them are most interested in stopping the criminals from preying on the public, and that many of them are gun owners who believe very strongly in the right of self-defense.

Wesley D:
No misunderstandings here, a&h.  I know we're on the same team.  ;D


--- Quote from: armed and humorous on August 26, 2009, 06:00:07 PM ---I think it is a well-meaning, though somewhat misguided attempt to get criminals convicted for the crimes they commit.  Nothing wrong with that, is there?  These programs are basically run and funded by private citizens and organizations who choose to sponser them.
--- End quote ---

I've got abslolutely no problem with private citizens or orgs choosing to sponsor programs... until those programs start with the anti-gun rhetoric (usually the precursor to advocating for additional firearm restrictions on the law-abiding citizens) and then they fancy some of their funding from government grants (my tax dollars). 

I admit that I'm not that familiar with Crime Stoppers.  Is it a local Omaha thing only, or part of a larger national program?  Are these the same Crime Stoppers: Hinojosa Secures $5,000 Grant For Bee County Crime Stoppers?

armed and humorous:
Read the article linked to, but still not sure exactly where the $5k is coming from.  The CrimeStoppers program began in a county in Arizona (I think) and became popular there before spreading around the country to places such as Lincoln and Omaha.  The best I can gather, they are similar to franchises in a chain business.  However, I think they obtain their funding and management pretty much on a location by location basis.  As far as I know, the gun bounty deal is not a part of all Crimestoppers organizations.  Certainly not in Lincoln, but quite possibly in more than just Omaha.

I too would have some reservations (at best) about government funding of the programs.  I know they have been successful in solving a number of crimes, and not always because of "scumbags" turning each other in.  The public in general has access to the pictures, videos, and discriptions of recent unsolved crimes, and I'm sure lots of upstanding citizens would love to play a hand in catching these people.  I myself had an opportunity many years ago to help uncover a rather large scheme for fraudlant sales of habitat stickers for hunting licenses.  I supplied my tip (someone I knew offered to sell me one at half price and spilled the beans to some extent on how the scheme was working), but I never heard any more about it.  More recently, I saw a photo of someone who was involved in a theft and recognized the young man as someone I had seen several times in the area of theft.  Unfortunately, I had no helpful information beyond that.  But, if I were to see the guy again, I would certainly tail him and contact the police to help them catch the guy (reward or not).

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