Crime & Safety

Handgun Permits on the Rise in Eagan, Dakota County

Between 2007 and 2011, Dakota County has seen a 209-percent increase in the number of new permits to carry a handgun issued. Eagan police are noticing a similar trend.

Purchasing a handgun for personal use is not a simple process in Minnesota, but that hasn't stopped an ever-growing number of Eagan residents.

In 2007, slightly more than 300 Eagan residents were issued a permit to purchase a handgun, according to data provided by the Eagan Police Department, which is responsible for processing and approving those permits. Five years later, in 2011, the police department issued 496 permits—a roughly 64-percent increase.

Eagan is on track to break that record this year, Eagan Police Chief Jim McDonald said. As of April 25, 2012, the department processed 286 permit requests, McDonald said, compared to only 178 for the same period in 2011. Those numbers include both new permits and annual renewals, McDonald said.

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Number of Permits to Purchase a Handgun Issued in Eagan Since 2007*

Year Number of Permits Issued 2007 302 2008 369 2009 425 2010 405 2011 496 YTD 2012 286

*Information courtesy of the Eagan Police Department. Numbers include new permit applications and renewals.

Find out what's happening in Eaganwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Growing Pressure

Dealing with the growing number of permits has put pressure on police department staff, said McDonald.

Under Minnesota state law, a person interested in owning a handgun must first apply for a permit to purchase a handgun from his or her local law enforcement agency. If a person lives in an unincorporated area, the local sheriff is responsible for processing requests.

Each time a permit comes in, the department's investigators must complete criminal history checks, review court records and contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services to make sure the applicant has never been committed for a mental illness, McDonald said.

Gathering all that information can take several days, McDonald said, and rejections are rare.

"It’s quite involved, and it does cause a burden for staff," said McDonald.

Eagan isn't the only local law enforcement agency to see an increase in number of applicants for handgun-related permits.

In 2007, Dakota County issued 455 new permits to carry handguns, not including permit renewals. In 2011, that number jumped 209 percent to 1,407, according to data released by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office. So far in 2012, the department has received 613 applications.

 

Number of Permits to Carry a Handgun Issued in Dakota County Since 2007*

Year Number of Permits Issued 2007 455 2008 948 2009 1,217 2010 1,076 2011 1,407 First quarter, 2012 613

*Information courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff's office. Numbers do not include permit renewals.

 

Unlike a permit to purchase a handgun, which must be renewed every year, a permit to carry a handgun stays valid for five years and allow residents to keep a handgun in their possession while in public. In order to receive a permit to carry, a person must also complete a handgun training course from a certified instructor.

The number of permit to carry applicants has grown so much that Sheriff Dave Bellows occasionally allocates some of the department's overtime hours to processing permit applications.

McDonald and Bellows have differing explanations as to why the increase is occurring.

"There’s sometimes a paranoia that it's going to be harder to procure guns because of legislative activity, that the government could try to restrict the sale of firearms,” McDonald said. “I think that's why you see a push, an uptick."

Bellows acknowledged that there was a concern about handgun regulations after the presidential election in 2008, but doesn't think politics plays a significant part in the increase.

Nor are safety concerns a factor, Bellows said. Violent crime rates are decreasing countywide and more local residents feel safe in their neighborhoods, Bellows said, citing resident surveys conducted across the county.

“I don’t think I can probably fully answer it," said Bellows, referring to the trend. "It's their right to [own a weapon], and I think they just wanted to exercise a right."

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