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Crime & Safety

Gun Permits Going 'Through the Roof' in Bloomingdale

Fear of potential gun restrictions prompts surge in gun interest, police chief says.

Two developing trends are keeping the Bloomingdale Police Department busy, Police Chief Joseph Borell told the Bloomingdale Council in his annual report on Tuesday evening.

The police department is handling more gun permits than ever before, he said, and the use of heroin is rising.

Since the , in December, the number of applications for handgun permits and weapons identification cards in the borough has “gone through the roof,” Borrell said. In 2012, the police department processed 72 applications for identification cards, an “all-time high,” the chief said, and 106 handgun permits. Since the beginning of the year, the department has already handled 60 permit applications, the chief said.

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“I can’t imagine what we’re going to be at the end of the year,” Borell said, adding he may have to assign an officer full-time to handle the workload.

Borell attributed the rise to the belief held by many that the government is going to crack down on gun possession in the wake of the Newtown shootings. He said that applicants have ranged in age from 21 to 80. The chief said that many neighboring towns have also experienced the same increase in weapons permits.

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Heroin Use Also on the Rise in Bloomingdale

In reporting that the department made 89 drug arrests in 2012, the chief said that heroin use is “out of control.”

“It’s now the drug of choice,” Borell said.

The chief also said that the number of Internet-related crimes also rose in 2012.

“We’ve seen a spike in Internet crimes,” he said. “We’re constantly busy now.”

The department, with 16 full-time officers and five special officers, handed out 3,995 summonses in 2012. That amounted to $419,695 in fines, the chief said. The two largest categories for tickets were overnight parking violations (371) and inspection violations (302). Twenty-five drunken driving arrests were made and 117 speeding tickets were issued, Borell said.

In all, there were 250 motor vehicle accidents with 51 injuries. The majority of the accidents (177) were on county roads. The chief boasted that the officers on the overnight shifts performed nearly 2,000 checks on businesses and found 111 open doors.

Borell also said the officers on the day shifts conducted 433 walk-ins through the borough’s schools in 2012. Each officer, he said, is required to walk through the schools at least once a day, he said, to maintain a high visibility and develop a relationship with the youngsters.

The department also held its first Junior Police Academy last summer which the chief called “a great thing for everyone involved.” He said that admission availability into this year’s academy may be limited because of the interest that has already been expressed.

“That was a phenomenal presentation,” Mayor Jonathan Dunleavy told Borell. “You lead a real fine department.”

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