Dade police put a bounty on illegal guns

Web master's Note: There are no illegal guns only illegal use of guns by people called criminals - murderers - as there are no illegal matches only illegal use of matches by people called criminals - arsonists!

Desperate to counter a rising homicide rate, and more specifically a spate of killings in North Miami-Dade, police unveiled a new tactic last week in the war on crime: a gun bounty.

The plan, which has been up and running in Jacksonville and Orlando for the past six months, calls for a 24-hour hot line where callers can squeal on anyone they believe has an illegal firearm.

The payoff, though not yet set in stone: $1,000. But it must lead to an arrest, a gun recovery and a weapons charge.

''We're fine-tuning the last details before we put the program in motion,'' said Miami-Dade Police Cmdr. Linda O'Brien. ``It's aimed at young people who are trying to get their hands on illegal guns.''

O'Brien said the program should be in place in the next few weeks. She expects callers will have to contact the county's Crime Stoppers hot line, and she would not specify funding sources.

The gun bounty plan, at least initially, received cool receptions from two groups that follow police activities -- the National Rifle Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Marion Hammer, a prominent NRA lobbyist, said the best way to keep illegal firearms off the street is to keep criminals behind bars.

''Expending law enforcement on a tip when people are just looking for a bounty doesn't seem to be the most effective use of our law enforcement,'' she said.

Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, asked how police might proceed after getting a call.

``I see it as retaliation with a neighbor you're having a battle with. It's useful information, but I'm not sure it's enough to trigger a search.''

Said O'Brien: ``If we were told someone had a cache of weapons, we would investigate that information. We're not going to get a warrant and just barge through the door,''

O'Brien said the gun bounty program would work like Crime Stoppers. After an anonymous call, police would use the tip to do leg work, then try to obtain a search warrant before making an arrest.

County Det. Roy Rutland said a call to Crime Stoppers in itself has never been enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant. For example, he cited three arrests on Wednesday at an alleged pothouse in South Dade: A tipster called in, but police furthered their search with dogs and checked lines for power diversion before getting a warrant.

Miami-Dade, like many large metropolitan areas, has seen its murder rate rise recently. Last year, the county medical examiner's office reported 258 homicides, a 40 percent hike from 2005. Especially hard hit were communities in North Miami-Dade like Miami Gardens, Opa-locka and Little River.

Earlier this month county police began flooding North Dade's streets with more than 100 officers who will mainly search for people with outstanding warrants.

Like Miami-Dade, Jacksonville and Orlando have seen rising murder rates. Jacksonville instituted its program in August 2006. Orlando followed in mid January.

Jacksonville's program, which is part of its ''Operation Safe Streets'' initiative, also offers a $1,000 reward. In the first six months of the program, officials there said 379 tips led to 31 gun arrests.

Mark Caliel, an assistant state attorney in Jacksonville, said his program netted an arrest Wednesday. A police officer received a standard anonymous tip about a gun in August. He did a ''knock and talk,'' and when the accused opened the door, the officer smelled marijuana.

He was allowed inside, spotted a safe and observed cocaine and two weapons after the safe was opened for him, he said. The man was arrested on marijuana possession charges. Six months later he was charged with trafficking cocaine -- the alleged contraband found in the safe. No illegal firearms were found.

Caliel expects the tipster to receive the reward even though no gun was recovered, because it led to arrests and weapons being removed from the street, he said. But it's not his call. Jacksonville, like Orlando, has a group of board members who review each month's arrests, then determine who gets reward money.

Caliel said there are 20 to 25 officers from local, state and federal agencies involved in the task force that oversees the gun bounty program. Two division chiefs from the state attorney's office work there full-time, as well.

He said it was too soon to say if the program is cutting down violent crime: ``I think it's difficult to say there's a marked decrease. It's not going to be an overnight cure.''

Orlando claims to have received about 80 calls during the first month of the program, without a single arrest.

BY CHARLES RABIN
crabin@MiamiHerald.com