Firearm Purchasing and Adverse Events Database

Firearm Purchasing and Adverse Events Database

Firearm Purchase Behavior and Subsequent Adverse Events, United States, 1985-2018

  • by Laqueur HS

Database Summary

The primary purpose of this project was to develop and test a new large-scale approach to threat assessment that relies on objective data regarding firearm purchases. Specifically, to analyze firearm transaction records in California to better understand the firearm purchasing patterns of mass shooters and perpetrators of firearm-related crimes and to build risk prediction models to help identify individuals who might be at extreme risk for committing such crimes in the future.

OBJECTIVES

  1. To determine whether there were unusual pre-event firearm purchasing patterns among known mass shooters with a record of purchase in California (1985-2018), as compared to the general population of registered firearm purchasers in the state of California.
  2. To determine whether perpetrators of homicide, robbery, or aggravated assault in California with a record of purchase (1985-2018) have distinct pre-event firearm purchasing patterns as compared to the general population of registered firearm purchasers in the state.
  3. To use machine learning methods to forecast who is at an elevated risk of involvement in a mass shooting based on features generated from firearm transaction records, along with criminal history records, and other key individual and community characteristics available in the administrative data.
  4. To use the same machine learning methods and predictor variables to forecast who is at elevated risk of involvement in other serious firearm violence (homicide, robbery, or aggravated assault with a firearm).

The database is publicly available as part of The National Archive of Criminal Justice Data and distributed via the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) on OpenICSPR. Access the database here.

Citation

Laqueur, Hannah S. Firearm Purchase Behavior and Subsequent Adverse Events, United States, 1985-2018. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-10-15. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39169.v1

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Primary Category

Using Data to Predict Violence

Secondary Categories

Firearm Acquisition and Ownership Threat Assessment and Management School and Mass Shootings

Tags

Dataset Research