There are two criminology definitions for public shootings, and they are very different: Active Shooter Events (ASE): Where a person shoots at multiple people in public, though there may be no deaths. Mass Public Shootings (MPS): Public shooting events where four or more people are killed, not including perpetrator(s). Note: a 2012 definition created by Congress uses 3+ victims as their definition, but criminologists adhere the original 4+ baseline. Mass Shooting (MS): Event, regardless of public/private locations, with four or more people are killed (not including the perpetrator) within a 24 hour period. Myth: U.S. Leads World in Mass Shootings Fact: This conclusion was in a paper with multiple problems: Does not list the shooting events, so there is no way of validating the conclusion. Issues with the author’s unique definition of “mass shooting”, which does not align with those commonly used in criminology. Data collection methodologies, such as only gathering … Continue reading →

Basic to the debates on gun control is the fact that most violent crime is committed by repeat offenders.  Dealing with recidivism is key to solving violence. 71% of gunshot victims had previous arrest records. 64% had been convicted of a crime. Victims had an average of 11 prior arrests., 63% of victims had criminal histories and 73% of that group knew their assailant (twice as often as victims without criminal histories). 74% of homicides during the commission of a felony involve guns. Only 25% of victims and 13% of perps did not show any evidence of engaging in criminal/deviant lifestyles (i.e., prior arrests, gang mem­bership, and/or drug dealing) prior the homicide. Recidivism is exceptionally high among criminals with previous gun-related charges, 70% higher than for non-gun first offenders. Most gun violence is between criminals with collateral damage. This should be the public policy focus. Myth: Gun violence is widespread in America Fact: … Continue reading →

Myth: The availability of guns causes crime Fact: Though the number of firearms owned by private citizens has been increasing steadily since 1970, the overall rate of homicides and suicides has not risen (though suicide rates did start to rise during the Great Recession). As the chart shows, there is no correlation between the availability of firearms and the rates of homicide and suicide in America. Fact: Internationally speaking “There’s no clear relationship between more guns and higher levels of violence.” Fact: When homicide modes (weapon type) are charted against gun ownership rates and total homicide rates, homicides rise as per capita gun ownership rates decline. Fact: “A detailed study of the major surveys completed in the past 20 years or more provides no evidence of any relationship between the total number of legally held firearms in society and the rate of armed crime. Nor is there a relationship between the … Continue reading →