New York City Launches Gun Courts

Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission, explains the new program, announced last week on the show by Commissioner Bratton, to separate gun crimes for trials.

Starting this month, those charged with possession of a firearm will be sent to one of two courtrooms in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. The plan is called “Project Fast Track,” and also involves creating a 200-officer police division focused specifically on gun crime. 

"We're missing people who are carrying illegal guns and the process is taking too long," Richard Aborn says of the current system. The new plan aims to resolve many illegal gun cases within six months. 

"Speed is to the benefit to the person who is accused as much as it is to the public," he says, speaking to those who are spending years in jails like Rikers Island, "especially to those defendants who are falsely accused."

Scott Hechinger, an attorney from Brooklyn Defender Services, called in with criticisms: "The one size fits all solution will be punitive above all else."