LAPD advised potential robbery victims (both at home and in public) to essentially give up if and when the robbery happens. This comes on the heels of a string of robberies in big-ticket shopping areas like Melrose. Victims were watched and targeted based on the types of cars they drive and also the jewelry they wear. Some of the victims were even followed home from these expensive areas. LAPD says that nothing on a person’s body is worth the person’s life, so the best thing to do is cooperate with the robbery. This is actually sound advice for more people. The problem comes in when the robbers follow a person home.
California, especially the city areas like Los Angeles, have very strict gun laws. Obtaining a legal weapon can be difficult. And when a weapon is obtained in California, there are strict laws that control its usage. One odd law in California says that all weapon magazines are capped at ten rounds. This makes sense for typical 9mm handguns because ten rounds is generally the standard size for a magazine. However, when it comes to rifles like an AR15, ten rounds simply does not make sense. 30-round magazines are standard for the aforementioned types of rifles. Even if the size of rounds were increased to the standard 30 in California, there would still be an issue with ammunition. Regulations have made ammo scarce and very expensive in the Golden State.
Allowing robbers free reign to roam once they approach a victim’s home is beyond dangerous. The most obvious problem here is the fact that these people may want more than personal belongings. Kidnapping for ransom is not a thing of the past only to be seen in gangster movies. Human trafficking is very real and a serious problem all over the country. Especially in areas where prosecuting lower-level crimes is not a priority. Because low-level criminality left unchecked quickly evolves into high-level criminality as criminals are always pushing their boundaries. LAPD should advise these people to become armed to protect their homes but then the pesky gun laws and regulations come into the picture.
The types of people who are being targeted by organized robbery rings generally support leftist political movements like Black Lives Matter. The rallying cry for BLM (and far-leftist politicians) has been “defund the police”. If these people get their way and police in Los Angeles are defunded, then that means crime will rise. The robberies these affluent people are suffering from are due, in large part, to their own political action. Police cannot be everywhere at all times to protect everyone, this is true. However, police presence can surely cut down on the sheer amount of crime that is currently plaguing LA County and other cities in the state. The crime situation is much worse for people in lower-income areas as they deal with more aggravated, violent crime than their well-to-do fellow citizens. All of this in the name of “progress”.
SOURCES:
LAPD issues community alert on ‘follow-home robberies’
LAPD Advises City Residents to ‘Cooperate and Comply’ with Robbers
Celebrities targeted in follow-home robberies, LAPD says – Los Angeles Times
LAPD issues community alert on ‘follow-home robberies’ targeting people in shopping district on Melrose Avenue – ABC7 Los Angeles
Sherman Oaks actor chased, shot at in follow-home robbery attempt – Daily News
Detroit chief: More citizens should be armed
California Has Some of the Nation’s Strictest Gun Laws. Are They Working? | KQED
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