Suicide is a major public health problem with immediate and long-term effects on individuals, families, and communities. In 2020 and 2021, stressors wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home mandates, economic turmoil, social unrest, and growing inequality likely modified risk for self-harm. The coinciding surge in firearm purchasing may have increased risk for firearm suicide.
AbstractPurposeTo examine the firearm acquisition histories of mass and active shooters from California. MethodsFirst, we identified 22 individuals with a record of authorized handgun purchase in California who perpetrated an attack between 1996 and 2018. Using incidence density sampling, mass and active shooters were matched to purchasers and compared using conditional logistic regressions.
AbstractFirearm availability has been linked to firearm self-harm, but the joint relationship with alcohol availability, while supported by theory, has not been examined. This study sought to quantify the separate and joint relations of community firearm and alcohol availability with individual-level risk of (fatal and nonfatal) firearm self-harm. We conducted a case-control study of California residents, 2005–2015, using statewide mortality, hospital, firearm transfer, and alcohol license data.
AbstractMost research on exposure to violence focuses on direct victimization, offending, or witnessed violence, yet many people also experience concerns about potential violence in their environments and social networks.
Despite promising results from individual-level studies, state-level studies of the effectiveness of comprehensive background-check (CBC) policies in reducing firearm fatalities have yielded null results in multiple states. These prior studies focused on CBC laws adopted in the 1990s, when record keeping was far less complete. We estimated the effect of the implementation of CBC policies on state-level firearm homicide and suicide rates in states implementing CBC policies from 2013 to 2015 (Colorado, Delaware, Oregon, and Washington).
Parole is an important mechanism for alleviating the extraordinary social and financial costs of mass incarceration. Yet parole boards can also present a major obstacle, denying parole to low-risk inmates who could safely be released from prison. We evaluate a major parole institution, the New York State Parole Board, quantifying the costs of non-risk-based decision-making.
Recent survey research has found a concerningly high level of support for extreme beliefs and violence to advance political objectives in the United States (US). This study assesses variation in that support with political party affiliation and political ideology.
Design, Setting, Participants
Cross-sectional nationwide survey conducted May 13 to June 2, 2022; participants were adult members of the Ipsos KnowledgePanel.
Thousands of buildings in Cleveland, Ohio were demolished or rehabilitated since the Great Recession in the 2000s. Recent evidence suggests removing vacant and decaying buildings reduces violent and firearm-involved crime. This study examines the dose-response relationship between demolitions, rehabilitations, and crime. We use Bayesian spatiotemporal models to estimate the association of interest for five types of crime outcomes: violent crimes, violent crimes involving a firearm, drug crimes, and crimes often associated with building vacancy.
"The United States has experienced an unprecedented surge in homicides — the vast majority of which involve firearms. Mass shootings, however they are defined, are also increasing. Firearm suicide rates, in contrast, have remained stable. To understand these developments, it’s important to see where they came from. What are the long-term trends? What state and regional patterns exist in mortality and in firearm-violence prevention policies?"
AbstractFormer industrial cities facing economic challenges and depopulation often experience high levels of firearm and other forms of violence. Within these cities, violent crime often clusters in neighborhoods affected by high levels of vacant and abandoned housing. This study estimates the effects of building demolition in Detroit, Michigan on the subsequent risk of violent crime using property-level data and longitudinal targeted maximum likelihood estimation.
