Illegal Firearm Availability and Firearm Violence Involving Black Victims in New York City

• In Event: Gun Violence and Mental Health

Abstract

Firearm violence poses a serious threat to public safety. The risks of firearm violence are not evenly distributed among racial groups and in neighborhoods. This is not an exception to New York City (NYC). In NYC, Blacks accounted for 68% of firearm violence victims during the study period (2021-2023). Blacks in NYC faced a risk of firearm violence three times higher than that of Hispanics, and 76 times higher than that of White residents, accentuating the urgent need to examine the risk factors of firearm violence against Black victims. The preliminary spatial analysis shows that spatial concentrations of firearm violence differ by victim race in NYC. The present study examines the relationship between illegal firearm availability (IFA) and firearm violence involving Black victims. The present study utilizes three years of (2021-2023) New York Police Department (NYPD) shooting data, NYPD crime complaint data, and the American Community Survey (ACS) data. It is critical to understand the local distribution of violence, identify crime hotspots, and devise effective place-based policing strategies to prevent violence.

Author

• Sung-suk Violet Yu, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY