MURDEROUS CITIES

So Moscow had more murders than Los Angeles in 1993, despite the fact that for about 70 years the penalty for firearms possession has been up to five years’ imprisonment (“Moscow PD Blues,” by Diane K. Shah, Jan. 16). There, as here, Draconian gun-control laws have proven to be absolute, abject failures.

While the evidence shows that an overwhelming police presence will severely curtail crime (the recent Los Angeles earthquake aftermath and the communist era in the former Soviet Union serve as examples), such armed profiles are basically undesirable and quite expensive to maintain. Both Los Angeles and Moscow, and other places as well, need to resolve the moral and social problems that lead to crime and violence.

W. E. POOLE JR.

Newbury Park