Word: crimed
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...dealers might try to rob him of his drugs or the wad of cash in his wallet. So he carried a 9-mm handgun. "Everybody had a gun," he says, "for defense." But now he has a bigger fear: if he gets caught with a weapon while committing a crime in his hometown of Richmond, Va., he faces at least five years without parole in a distant federal prison. That's why Edward, 25, doesn't pack a pistol anymore...
...calculation many criminals and would-be criminals are making these days in Richmond and other cities that have emulated Project Exile, the Virginia capital's innovative program to combat gun crime. It is credited with helping cut in half the number of murders in Richmond over the past two years...
...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...
...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...