Illinois robbery rate has fallen by 20 percent since concealed handgun permits started being issued

Aug 25, 2014 | Featured

Given the small percentage of Illinoisans who have obtained a concealed handgun permit, it is very doubtful that permitted concealed could have a significant impact on crime rates, though it might put criminals on notice and there were a few startling cases of self defense with permits in Illinois.  In one case in Chicago, a former soldier with a legal permit to carry stopped a gang from killing four people who had just left a party.  In another case in Chicago, an 86-year fired to stop an armed robbery who was fleeing police.  The robber had harassed customers and pistol-whipped one.

From the Washington Times:

Since Illinois started granting concealed carry permits this year, the number of robberies that have led to arrests in Chicago has declined 20 percent from last year, according to police department statistics. Reports of burglary and motor vehicle theft are down 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively. . . .

“It isn’t any coincidence crime rates started to go down when concealed carry was permitted. Just the idea that the criminals don’t know who’s armed and who isn’t has a deterrence effect,” said Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association. “The police department hasn’t changed a single tactic — they haven’t announced a shift in policy or of course — and yet you have these incredible numbers.”

As of July 29 the state had 83,183 applications for concealed carry and had issued 68,549 licenses. By the end of the year, Mr. Pearson estimates, 100,000 Illinois citizens will be packing. When Illinois began processing requests in January, gun training and shooting classes — which are required for the application — were filling up before the rifle association was able to schedule them, Mr. Pearson said. . . .

A July study by the Crime Prevention Research Center found that 11.1 million Americans have permits to carry concealed weapons, a 147 percent increase from 4.5 million seven years ago. Meanwhile, homicide and other violent crime rates have dropped by 22 percent.

“There’s a lot of academic research that’s been done on this, and if you look at the peer-reviewed studies, the bottom line is a large majority find a benefit of concealed carry on crime rates — and, at worst, there’s no cost,” said John Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center based in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. “You can deter criminals with longer prison sentences and penalties, but arming people with the right to defend themselves with a gun is also a deterrence.”

Within Illinois, Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, has the state’s largest number of concealed carry applications, with 28,552 requests, according to the county’s website. . . . .

johnrlott

2 Comments

  1. Julia Carlson

    That’s really impressive! I have been trying to decide whether I should get a concealed carry license. My husband wants me to get one, but I’m not sure it’s right for me. I want to be able to defend myself like these people mentioned above did, but I’ve never been very comfortable with guns. I think I’ll get a license so that this year for Christmas I can choose my own handgun. That would be an awesome present. http://www.chaunceyspawn.net/products.html

  2. Lynn

    Its a no beainer, really. Any person who values freedom from oppression. You can take just about any situation in life from bullying, to fighting all the way up to national defense that anyone who has the power usually wins, even without a fight. With conceal and carry, we are now not only equal with the bully, but we have an advantage in that of surprise. That scares a bully so they back off. There are a lot better ways of saying this, but it’s just plain common sense.

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