Riverside County Supervisors Urge More Concealed Weapons Permits

Palm Desert — The Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved the resolution 3 to 1 during Tuesday’s meeting. Supervisor Jeff Stone, who authored the resolution, says people need a way to protect themselves against the possible release of 27,000 prison inmates. A panel of federal judges ordered the release earlier this year. Stone says two to three thousand inmates could end up in the county and ‘personal defense’ is reason enough for the Sheriff’s Department to give out permits.

The Sheriff’s Department told News Channel 3, “The supervisors can make a ‘recommendation’, but cannot legally ‘bind’ the Sheriff in discretionary decisions in the granting of CCW’s. We use a variety of criteria in granting CCW’s for ‘good cause’, and already generally include what is being recommended … This includes ‘personal defense’ reasons.”

It’s not easy to get a concealed weapons permit in California. You have to go through a number of background checks and go through 16 hours of training. And unlike other state, each police chief or county sheriff makes the final call on who gets a permit and who doesn’t.

There’s only 500 people in a county of over 2 million with concealed weapon permits. The Sheriff’s Department expects that number to rise. So does Johnny Woods, Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Security Academy. They provide the training to people need to get their permits.

“It’s certainly an interesting process. I think one, of course, the citizens of Riverside County may be in favor of it,” says Woods.

Woods says most of the people who get concealed weapons permits do it for self defense. And the boards request shouldn’t put guns in the wrong hands.

“We’ve got, obviously, rational intelligent people who are going through the training they have to go through and complete all the required background requirements as well as training and being proficient with the weapon,” says Woods.