Firearms and Crime

1. Guns Used in Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice, Marianne W. Zawitz, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Washington, DC, July 1995.

   This study compiles data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the FBI's National Crime Information Center, and other sources on firearm use in crime and firearm theft. A list of the 10 guns most frequently traced to criminal use by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in 1994 is included.

   This publication is free. Call the National Criminal Justice Reference Services (NCJRS) at 1-800-732-3277. Ask to be placed on the NCJRS mailing list to receive information about their publications.

   Key Facts:

   • The National Crime Victimization Survey estimates that in 1993 there were 4.4 million victims of violent crime in America.
   • Of these victims, 1.3 million (29%) faced an offender with a firearm.

   
   

2. Cop Killers: Assault Weapon Attacks On America's Police, Kristen Rand, Violence Policy Center, Washington, DC, September 1995, 55 pages.

   The result of a five-month survey of newspaper reports, this study describes the threats that assault weapons pose to America's police. In doing so, the report refutes claims made during the 1995 Congressional hearings for the repeal of the federal assault weapons ban. Copies of the original news clips are included in the study.

   This publication is $10.00, including shipping and handling. Call the Violence Policy Center at (202) 822-8200 or write to the VPC at 1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036.

   Key Fact:

   • Over a five-month period in 1995, police found themselves facing assault weapons in at least 20 incidents that resulted in eight police killed and nine injured.

   
   

3. Criminal Activity and Assault-Type Handguns: A Study of Young Adults, Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH; Mona A. Wright, MPH; et al, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 32, No. 1, July 1998, pp. 44-50.

   This study tries to determine whether individuals who buy an assault-type handgun are more likely to engage in criminal activity than those purchasing other firearms. It analyzes a population under the age of 25 who legally purchased handguns in California in 1988.

   Key Fact:

   • Among those who had previously been charged with violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault), purchasers of assault-type handguns were three times as likely to be charged with a new offense involving firearms or violence as were purchasers of other handguns.

   
   

4. Gun Shows in America: Tupperware� Parties for Criminals, Kristen Rand, Violence Policy Center, Washington, DC, July 1996, 74 pages.

   This much-cited study examines the explosive growth of gun shows since the 1986 passage of the federal Firearms Owners' Protection Act (the "McClure-Volkmer" bill). This law made two significant changes in the regulation of gun shows: 1) holders of Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) could now sell weapons at gun shows in their own state and, 2) unlicensed individuals could sell at gun shows from their "private collections."

   The study features a survey of law enforcement personnel and gun show promoters regarding the mushrooming of gun shows and resultant law enforcement problems. Gun shows contribute to the flow of firearms to criminals and have become recruitment centers for militias and other extremist groups. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for local, state, and federal actions to reduce the threat to public safety posed by gun shows.

   This publication is $15.00, including shipping and handling. Call the Violence Policy Center at (202) 822-8200 or write to the VPC at 1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. A copy of the VPC publications list will be included upon request. Follow this link to view the study's executive summary.

   
   

5. Prior Misdemeanor Convictions as a Risk Factor for Later Violent and Firearm-Related Criminal Activity Among Authorized Purchasers of Handguns, Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH; Christiana M. Drake, PhD; et al, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), Vol. 280, No. 24, December 23, 1998, pp. 2083-2087.

   This study tracked a group of persons over a 15-year period, who had legally purchased handguns in California in 1977, to see if those with prior misdemeanor convictions were more likely to be charged with new crimes than those with no criminal history.

   Key Fact:

   • Handgun purchasers with at least one prior misdemeanor conviction were more than seven times as likely to be charged with a new offense after handgun purchase as those with no prior criminal history.

   
   

6. Weapons of Choice: Previous Criminal History, Later Criminal Activity, and Firearm Preference among Legally Authorized Young Adult Purchasers of Handguns; Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH; Carrie A. Parham, MS; et al, The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, Vol. 44, No. 1, Jan. 1998, pp. 155-160.

   This study analyzed authorized purchasers of handguns in California in 1988 between the ages of 21 years to 25 years old to determine the association between criminal activity and preference for a particular class of handgun�in this case "Saturday Night Specials" or "junk guns."

   Key Fact:

   • Handgun purchasers without a criminal history who bought small, low-quality handguns were nearly twice as likely to be charged with new crimes involving firearms or violence than were purchasers of other handguns.

   
   

7. One Shot, One Kill: Civilian Sales of Military Sniper Rifles, Tom Diaz, Violence Policy Center, May 1999, 69 pages.

   This report exposes the fact that the 50 caliber sniper rifle, a military weapon capable of striking a target a mile away, is sold in gun stores just as any other rifle. The report also explores how the gun industry markets sniper rifles and the bizarre subculture of sniper enthusiasts.

   This publication is $12.00, including shipping and handling. Call the Violence Policy Center at (202) 822-8200 or write to the VPC at 1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Follow this link to view the study's executive summary.