Linking Crime Characteristics to Gun Use and Injury

• In Event: Firearms and Violence

Abstract

Firearms are a health hazard: In 2013, 69.5% of the 16,121 homicides in the U.S. were firearm-related. Indeed, we know that criminal incidents involving firearms are more likely to result in injuries or death. And yet, research has not examined the specific predictors of firearm usage in criminal incidents. This is an important problem because lacking a clear understanding of the causes of gun use threatens the effectiveness of gun violence and injury prevention strategies. Using a data set merging National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the Center for Disease Control’s Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service hunting license data, we estimate multilevel logistic regression models to evaluate the role of structural and incident-level indicators on gun usage and resulting injuries in violent crime. Specifically, based on the extant literature on violence, we focus on the influence of gun prevalence and contextual factors, alcohol and drug use, time, location, victim-offender relationship, and demographic variables.

Authors

• Dale Willits, Washington State University

• Melanie-Angela Neuilly, Washington State University