On Thursday, the Washington Free Beacon reported that piracy off the coast of Somalia has decreased during 2012.

The article reports:

Successful ship hijackings have decreased from 31 in 2011 (and 49 in 2010) to only four so far in 2012. Attacks against ships have also decreased, falling from 199 reported attacks in the first nine months of 2011 to 70 attacks over the same span in 2012—a 65 percent drop.

So what caused the drop? Many commercial shipping companies have put armed guards aboard their ships. As yet, the pirates have never taken control of a ship that has armed guards.

The article concludes:

Ending the threat of piracy will not be cheap, however. The “cost of preventing piracy off the coast of Somalia is substantially higher than the costs piracy inflicts. Nevertheless, shipping companies are willing to pay a premium to prevent disruptions in their operations.”

Excuse me for a bit of oversimplification here, but the best way to deal with the bully who steals your lunch is to clean his clock. I don’t support a vigilante society, but there are times when it pays to arm the potential victim. That is a lesson that all of us need to keep in mind when we hear someone explain why they think that disarming America’s civilians is a good idea.