Incident and Individual Characteristics of Persons Denied a Firearm Transfer in 2002.

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Every year between 1% and 2% of persons who complete a background check for a firearm transfer are denied. There is no previous research on the characteristics of transfer denials and denied persons at a national level. We obtained data from the FBI NICS Section for the 60,729 federally denied applications in 2002. Of these, 29,843 denied applications (49.1%) could be examined for analysis. We will present results of analyses that describe the demographic characteristics of denied persons, the criminal history of denied persons, arrest offenses in the 48 months after a denial, and the recency of the most serious offense of a denied person. We will also present results examining denied persons with a history of weapon-related or family-related (i.e. domestic violence) offenses. Among the more interesting findings of the analysis is that 35.9% of denied persons subsequently committed a deniable offense in the 48 months after the initial denial. There are notable limitations to the analyses. For example, state-level denials (about 55% of all denials in 2002) are not examined. Results will be discussed in terms of policy and practice related to the denial of firearm transfers.

Authors

• David G. Mueller, Regional Justice Information Service

• Ronald Frandsen, Regional Justice Information Service

• Jennifer Karberg, Regional Justice Information Service