While New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is bloviating about gun buybacks and midnight basketball to try to reduce violent crime in the city, shootings and homicides are increasing as we head into the summer months. There were 50 victims in 46 separate incidents last week, up more than 250% compared to the same week in 2020, and the New York Post says de Blasio’s new crime fighting plan is basically a rehash of last year’s failed attempt to quell the violence.

The mayor announced his policing plan to curb the gun violence last week, but nearly all of the measures were implemented in 2020, including the “Summer All Out” initiative that failed to slow a months-long surge in shootings.

One Bronx cop slammed the mayor for touting gun arrests amid the shootings spike.

“The mayor talks about record gun arrests — the only record we will have this year is record shootings,” the cop told The Post.

Over the last two weeks, gun arrests were down compared to last year.

The cop in the Bronx is right that “gun arrests” is a b.s. metric to use. Why? Well, check out this tweet from NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.

What started as a 🛑 sign violation quickly turned into a foot pursuit & this illegal gun being dropped.

The criminal responsible has been arrested 7 times in the last 6 months, including 2x for firing a gun & once for slashing a woman.

Great job by @NYPD121Pct Public Safety. pic.twitter.com/uzTT0IURrA

— Commissioner Shea (@NYPDShea) April 26, 2021

If all you care about are arrests, then you view the fact that this perp’s been arrested 7 times in the past 6 months as a good thing. If, on the other hand, you care about reducing violent crime, then you’re probably wondering what the hell has to happen to keep a guy like this behind bars.

In fact, just focusing on the number of arrests actually masks the larger problem in the criminal justice system; a catch-and-release mentality that’s quickly putting violent offenders back on the street to commit more crimes. This guy wasn’t just caught carrying a gun without a license. He’s accused of two separate shooting incidents and a knife attack, but it sounds like each and every time he’s been arrested he’s been processed and swiftly released until his first court appearance.

This is nothing to brag about, in other words, even if Shea’s trying to put a positive spin on this guy’s most recent arrest. Meanwhile, New Yorkers who want to legally carry a gun for self-defense have no way to do so, unless they’re wealthy or influential enough to get one of the few carry permits doled out by the NYPD Licensing Division.

This is yet another reason why the Supreme Court’s decision to weigh in on New York State’s carry licensing laws is so desperately needed. If the Court does end up tossing out the discriminatory “may-issue” laws in the state, the average New Yorker who wants to carry in self-defense will be far more likely to be able to do so (though I’m sure the city and state will put up additional hurdles designed to inhibit residents from even applying for a license).

The armed criminals shooting up neighborhoods in New York are laughing at the city’s current crime fighting efforts. Want to wipe the smirks off their faces? Start locking them up for their violent crimes and ensure that the innocents that they’re targeting have the means and the right to defend themselves. New York City’s not interested in doing either, which is why I suspect it’s going to be a long, hot, and violent summer in the Big Apple.