By MARK MEDLYN, guest columnist

As 2020 retreats into the sunset and 2021 comes on the horizon, there is one constant between the two: the fear of crime.

In 2020, large cities saw recorded homicide levels not seen in decades. While homicides were up, other index crimes were down, in part due to the fact that people were staying at home.

At the same time, gun and ammunition sales have set levels never seen before.

Why are people so concerned and what is driving this upswing? The first, ammunition, explained simply: It is supply and demand.

At the beginning of the pandemic, before the urban violence, I cautioned my friends that ammunition would become scarce. I had seen the rise in ammunition sales after Sandy Hook and knew that with a decrease in production, there would be scarcity in the market. Along with the toilet paper hoarders, there are ammunition hoarders who will then turn around and sell it on the open market using gun and ammunition websites.

What was $9 a box a year ago suddenly went up eightfold. Warehouses that were full of ammunition became empty, in part due to the sales and in part due to decreased productivity as plants closed due to the pandemic. Factor in the new gun owners, estimated anywhere between 7 and 8 million new owners, and if each of them orders 100 rounds of ammunition for practice, then you can do the math. Between 700 and 800 million new rounds have to be manufactured. Even without the pandemic, ammunition manufacturers would be hard pressed to meet the demand.

But why the fear? This summer saw a level of riots not seen since the late ‘60s. Cities were on fire, and the police, already under fire for events in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Indianapolis and other cities, were overwhelmed. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the economic engine of Chicago and the state of Illinois, was under siege as the police were unable or unwilling to confront the protestors. Daily, people who may never have visited Chicago are now left with the impression that it is a dangerous, unlawful city and that violence will translate to their city. After all, Chicago had 792 homicides last year. But if you look as to where the homicides were concentrated, they are areas that I doubt anyone other than those who live in the area would visit.

What has changed? Instant information. What was only reported once a day in the paper is now reported on social media which has a wide audience. It is what I call the CNN effect.

There, of course, is the second fear that the current administration is going to limit magazine capacity and take your guns. When people ask me, do I believe that the president will? I simply reply for them to do their own research and see what the president and vice president have said in the past. Then, make your own informed decision.

When I started in law enforcement, I only carried 18 rounds on my person and in my revolver. When we switched to a semiautomatic weapon in the mid-1980s, I went from 18 rounds to a whopping 22. When I see officers carrying 60-plus rounds of ammunition on them today, I am amazed. I believe that if you need more than 60 rounds to hit someone, either they are in a spot you cannot hit or you’re a horrible marksman. When a Champaign officer was shot in 2007, the suspect fired and struck once, hitting the officer center mass into their vest. CPD returned a volley of over 40 rounds and hit the suspect one time in the ankle.

Carrying a firearm is something that you have to practice all the time. You must be aware of what the state laws are for the use of deadly force and what your rights are once you discharge a weapon. If you are one of the millions of new gun owners, be aware that every time you carry the weapon, you are putting your liberty and your family’s financial future on the line.

The time to have a plan after you discharge your weapon is not after you discharge it, but rather the moment you buy the weapon. What attorney are you going to call at 0-dark-30 who will answer your call and who actually knows criminal defense? That is not something that you want to be looking in the yellow pages for, as the investigatory law enforcement agency wants to ask you some questions. What do you do? My son is a CCW (carrying a concealed weapon permit) holder in Illinois. We have gone over what he should do should he discharge his weapon. You need to have a plan, too.

But always remember rule No. 1 of a gun fight: Do not get into it. If your Spidey sense tells you something is wrong, it probably is. Be aware of your surroundings. Rather than stare at your feet when you walk, look around. Who is looking at you and why? Before the pandemic, when I would fly, one of my games at the airport was to tell who were prior or active military and law enforcement. You can spot them instantly. They are the ones who are always looking around. Criminals like to prey on the weak.

Is there a crime problem in Brown County? Just look to The Democrat for that answer. How many violent crimes (i.e. sexual assault, robberies) are reported weekly? The answer is virtually zero. Ironically, as I write this, there is breaking news of a homicide in Brown County. But those events are rare. The majority of the calls for service are property checks or my favorite, the “incorrigible child.” Even in Bloomington or Columbus, violent crime is rare. Yet, many will have the perception that they need a firearm to defend themselves.

We have always owned dogs, some big and some small, but all were there to do one job: to bark when someone came to the door. I will never forget a few years ago when my miniature Schnauzer lost his mind barking at something at 0-dark-30. I woke up and found him sitting on his perch by the window, clawing at it to go after something. I told him that it was just a ghost and to go back to bed. It turns out, it was a burglar who was looking in the window to see if we had a dog. He went two doors down and burglarized their house. Their dogs were not as protective as mine.

Owning a gun is a major life decision. Make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons and not succumbing to the fear and paranoia that seems to be sweeping the country right now. Make sure that if you do buy a firearm, to go to the range and take some lessons on how to use it and when. It will save you a myriad of problems in the future.

Mark C. Medlyn of Brown County is an occasional community columnist. A graduate of Bloomington High School South and Indiana University, he has worked as a police officer and an adjunct college instructor, authored a textbook on the Illinois vehicle code, and became a substitute teacher in Illinois upon his retirement from full-time law enforcement in 2007. He and his wife, a retired university instructor, have been Brown County property owners since 2015.