It is well known that many crimes in the United States are committed with firearms. Less adequately documented is the frequency with which victims use guns in self-defense. We used National Crime Victimization Survey data to examine incidents where victims employed guns against offenders. Between 1987 and 1990 there were an estimated 258,460 incidents of firearm defense, an annual mean of 64,615. Victims used firearms in 0.18% of all crimes recorded by the survey and in 0.83% of violent offenses. Firearm self-defense is rare compared with gun crimes.

Hold your fire - gun-control wont stop rising violence

The incidence of defensive firearm use by US crime victims, 1987 through 1990

Purpose – The purpose of the present analysis is to test the relative impact of trust in police, social cohesion, and fear of crime on neighborhood‐level rates of concealed pistol license (CPL) holding. The dynamics of both formal and informal social control are hypothesized to affect neighborhood CPL concentrations.Design/methodology/approach – Data were neighborhood‐level and came from a city survey and the state Department of Licensing. A path model was estimated.Findings – Police service level had a negative indirect effect on neighborhood CPL concentrations through fear of crime, but had a strong positive direct effect. Social cohesion also had a strong positive direct effect on CPL rates.Research limitations/implications – The study suggests that lawful concealed hand‐gun carrying should be viewed as a way in which neighborhoods exercise informal social control. People in socially cohesive areas may carry concealed hand‐guns not only because they fear for their own safety, but also because they feel...

Hold your fire - gun-control wont stop rising violence

Citations

The incidence of defensive firearm use by US crime victims, 1987 through 1990

A Neighborhood-Level Analysis of Concealed Hand-Gun Permits