Data suggests 'red flag' laws are linked to sustained reductions in arrests

(SACRAMENTO) Individuals subject to extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), or “red flag” laws, were significantly less likely to be arrested — including for violent and firearm-related offenses — while the orders were in effect compared to the six months prior.

Strikingly, the drop in arrests did not end when the orders expired and continued for months afterward.

Those are the results of a new study published in PNAS Nexus.

Survey shows little shift in Americans’ views on political violence

(SACRAMENTO) A large, nationally representative survey of U.S. adults finds that support for, and willingness to engage in, political violence remained largely stable from mid‑2024 to mid‑2025, despite a highly contentious national election and ongoing political polarization, according to a new study published in Injury Epidemiology.

When (and why) doctors might ask patients about guns

(SACRAMENTO) To assess a patient’s overall well-being and potential health risks, clinicians routinely ask questions on a wide range of topics, such as car seats, mental health, diet, sexual activity, alcohol, exercise and smoking.

Physicians and researchers at the University of California, Davis, want providers to consider a new item for their list: firearms.

Physician and gun violence prevention expert Garen Wintemute inducted into National Academy of Medicine

(SACRAMENTO) Garen J. Wintemute, a nationally recognized expert in gun violence prevention and a pioneer in the field of injury epidemiology, was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Oct. 18 during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Study suggests gun-free zones do not attract mass shootings

(SACRAMENTO) Gun-free zones have often been blamed for making schools, malls and other public areas more attractive to shooters; however, there have been no quantitative studies examining those claims. Now, in a first of its kind study published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas, researchers at UC Davis Health and other institutions have shown that gun-free zones may, in fact, reduce the risk of mass shootings.

New funding for violence prevention research in California

(SACRAMENTO) The California Firearm Violence Research Center has awarded nearly $225,000 in grants to investigators studying gun violence exposure among adolescents, intimate partner violence and sex trafficking.

Sacramento’s first comprehensive trauma recovery center to open at UC Davis Health

(SACRAMENTO) UC Davis Health is opening the first comprehensive trauma recovery center in Sacramento. The UC Davis CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center will establish the new center this summer, thanks to a nearly $1.2 million grant from the California Victim Compensation Board. CAARE stands for Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource and Evaluation.

$3M Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to fund gun violence research

(SACRAMENTO) The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded UC Davis Health a three-year, $3 million grant. The prestigious award will fund research into the causes, complexities, and potential solutions to gun violence in disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities.

How firearms move from legal purchase to criminal use

(SACRAMENTO) Between 1996 and 2021, more than 5.2 million handguns and almost 2.9 million long guns were legally purchased in California. During 11 years of that time frame, 2010-2021, California law enforcement officers recovered 45,247 of these guns from crime scenes.

Why were some of those guns later involved in a crime, but most not? Were there characteristics or commonalities with crime guns? Researchers at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) wanted to know.

Violence prevention study wins top journal award

(SACRAMENTO) Garen Wintemute, director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP), is the recipient of the Jess Kraus Award for a major research paper he authored on political violence.