U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics 

Guns Used in Crime:  Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice--Selected
Findings No. 5
July 1995, NCJ-148201

By Marianne W. Zawitz
BJS Statistician

How often are guns used in violent crimes? 

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), almost
43.6 million criminal victimizations occurred in 1993, including 4.4
million violent crimes of rape and sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated
assault.  Of the victims of these violent crimes, 1.3 million (29%) stated
that they faced an offender with a firearm.  

In 1993, the FBI's Crime in the United States estimated that almost 2
million violent crimes of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault
were reported to the police by citizens.  About 582,000 of these reported
murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults were committed with
firearms.  Murder was the crime that most frequently involved firearms;
70% of the 24,526 murders in 1993 were committed with firearms.  

How do we know about the guns used by criminals?

No national collection of data contains detailed information about all of
the guns used in crimes.  Snapshots of information about the guns used by
criminals are available from--
* official police records concerning the guns recovered in crimes and
reports gathered from victims
* surveys that interview criminals 
* surveys that interview victims of crime.

From these sources, we know how often guns are involved in crime, how
guns are used in crime, what general categories of firearms are most often
used in crime, and, to a limited extent, the specific types of guns most
frequently used by criminals. 

Highlights

* Although most crime is not committed with guns, most gun crime is
committed with handguns.  pages 1 & 2

* Although most available guns are not used in crime, information about the
223 million guns available to the general public provides a context for
evaluating criminal preferences for guns.  page 2

* By definition, stolen guns are available to criminals.  The FBI's
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) stolen gun file contains over
2 million reports; 60% are reports of stolen handguns.  page 3 

* In 1994, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) 
received over 85,132 requests from law enforcement agencies for traces
of guns used in crime.  Over three quarters of the guns traced by the ATF
in 1994 were handguns (mostly pistols), and almost a third were less than
3 years old.  page 4

* Surveys of inmates show that they prefer concealable, large caliber
guns. Juvenile offenders appear to be more likely to possess guns than
adults.  page 5

* Studies of the guns used in homicides show that large caliber revolvers
are the most frequent type of gun used in murder, but the number of large
caliber semiautomatic guns used in murders is increasing.  page 5

* Little information exists about the use of assault weapons in crime.  The
information that does exist uses varying definitions of assault weapons that
were developed before the Federal 
assault weapons ban was enacted.   page  6

What are the different types of firearms?

Types     

HANDGUN     A weapon designed to fire a small projectile from one or
more barrels, when held in one hand and having a short stock designed to
be gripped by one hand.   

  Revolver     A handgun that contains its ammunition in a revolving
cylinder that typically holds five to nine cartridges each within a separate
chamber.  Before a revolver fires, the cylinder rotates and the next
chamber is aligned with the barrel.   

  Pistol     Any handgun that does not contain its ammunition in a
revolving cylinder.  Pistols can be manually operated or semiautomatic. 
A semiautomatic pistol generally contains cartridges in a magazine located
in the grip of the gun.  When the semiautomatic pistol is fired, the spent
cartridge that contained the bullet and propellant is ejected, the firing
mechanism is cocked, and a new cartridge is chambered.   

    Derringer     A small single or multiple shot handgun other than a
revolver or a semiautomatic pistol.  

RIFLE     A weapon intended to be fired from the shoulder that uses the
energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single
projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger. 

SHOTGUN     A weapon intended to be fired from the shoulder that uses
the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a
smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each
single pull of the trigger. 

FIRING ACTION

  Full automatic     Capability to fire a succession of cartridges so long as
the trigger is depressed or until the ammunition supply is exhausted. 
Automatic weapons are considered machineguns subject to the provisions
of the National Firearms Act. 

  Semiautomatic     An autoloading action that will fire only a single shot
for each single function of a trigger. 

  Machinegun     Any weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be
readily restored to shoot automatically more than one shot without manual
reloading by a single function of the trigger. 

  Submachinegun     A simple fully automatic weapon that fires a pistol
cartridge that is also referred to as a machine pistol. 

AMMUNITION

  Caliber      The size of the ammunition that a weapon is designed to
shoot as measured by the bullet's approximate diameter in inches in the
United States and in millimeters in other countries.  In some instances
ammunition is described with additional terms such as the year of its
introduction (.30/06) or the name of the designer (.30 Newton).  In some
countries, ammunition is also described in terms of the length of the
cartridge case (7.62 x 63 mm.)  

  Gauge     For shotguns, the number of spherical balls of pure lead, each
exactly fitting the bore, that equals one pound. 

 Sources:  ATF, Firearms & Explosives Tracing Guidebook, September
1993, pp. 35-40  and Paul C. Giannelli, "Ballistics Evidence:  Firearms
Identification," Criminal Law Bulletin,  May-June 1991, pp. 195-215.   
 

Handguns are most often the type of firearm used in crime

* According to the Victim Survey (NCVS), 25% of the victims of rape
and sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault in 1993 faced an
offender armed with a handgun.  Of all firearm-related crime reported to
the survey, 86% involved handguns.

* The FBI's Supplemental Homicide Reports show that in 1993 57% of
all murders were committed with handguns, 3% with rifles, 5% with
shotguns, and 5% with firearms where the type was unknown. 

* The 1991 Survey of State Prison Inmates found that violent inmates who
used a weapon were more likely to use a handgun than any other weapon;
24% of all violent inmates reported that they used a handgun.  Of all
inmates, 13% reported carrying a handgun when they committed the
offense for which they were serving time.

What types of guns do criminals prefer?

Research by Wright and Rossi in the 1980's found that most criminals
prefer guns that are easily concealable, large caliber, and well made.
Their studies also found that the handguns used by the felons interviewed
were similar to the handguns available to the general public except that the
criminals preferred larger caliber guns.  
   
What types of guns are available generally?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) estimates that from
1899 to 1993 about 223 million guns became available in the United
States, including over 79 million rifles, 77 million handguns and 66
million shotguns.  The number of guns seized, destroyed, lost, or not
working is unknown.

The number of new handguns added to those available has exceeded the
number of new shotguns and rifles in recent years.  More than half of the
guns added in 1993 were handguns.  Over 40 million handguns have been
produced in the United States since 1973.  

Since over 80% of the guns available in the United States are
manufactured here, gun production is a reasonable indicator of the guns
made available.  From 1973 to 1993, U.S. manufacturers produced--
6.6 million .357 Magnum revolvers
6.5 million .38 Special revolvers
5.4 million .22 caliber pistols
5.3 million .22 caliber revolvers
4.5 million .25 caliber pistols
3.1 million 9 millimeter pistols
2.4 million .380 caliber pistols
2.2 million .44 Magnum revolvers
1.7 million .45 caliber pistols
1.2 million .32 caliber revolvers.

During the two decades from 1973 to 1993, the types of handguns most
frequently produced have changed.  Most new handguns are pistols rather
than revolvers.  Pistol production grew from 28% of the handguns
produced in the United States in 1973 to 80% in 1993.  

The number of large-caliber pistols produced annually increased
substantially after 1986.  Until the mid-1980s, most pistols produced in
the United States were .22 and .25 caliber models.  Production of .380
caliber and 9 millimeter pistols began to increase substantially in 1987, so
that by 1993 they became the most frequently produced pistols.  From
1991 to 1993, the last 3 years for which data are available, the most
frequently produced handguns were--
.380 caliber pistols (20%)
 9 millimeter pistols (19%)
.22 caliber pistols (17%)
.25 caliber pistols (13%)
.50 caliber pistols (8%).

Stolen guns are a source of weapons for criminals

All stolen guns are available to criminals by definition.  Recent studies of
adult and juvenile offenders show that many have either stolen a firearm
or kept, sold, or traded a stolen firearm.

* According to the 1991 Survey of State Prison Inmates, among those
inmates who possessed a handgun, 9% had acquired it through theft and
28% had acquired it through an illegal market such as a drug dealer or
fence.  Of all inmates, 10% had stolen at least one gun, and 11% had sold
or traded stolen guns.  

* Studies of adult and juvenile offenders that the Virginia Department of
Criminal Justice Services conducted in 1992 and 1993 found that 15% of
the adult offenders and 19% of the juvenile offenders had stolen guns;
16% of the adults and 24% of the juveniles had kept a stolen gun; and
20% of the adults and 30% of the juveniles had sold or traded a stolen
gun.  

* From a sample of juvenile inmates in four States, Sheley and Wright
found that more than 50% had stolen a gun at least once in their lives and
24% had stolen their most recently obtained handgun.  They concluded
that theft and burglary were the original, not always the proximate, source
of many guns acquired by the juveniles. 

How many guns are stolen?

The Victim Survey (NCVS) estimates that there were 341,000 incidents
of firearm theft from private citizens annually from 1987-92.  Since the
survey does not ask how many guns were stolen, the number of guns
stolen probably exceeds the number of incidents of gun theft. 

The FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) stolen gun file
contained over 2 million reports as of March 1995.  In 1994, over
306,000 entries were added to this file including a variety of guns,
ammunition, cannons and grenades.  Reports of stolen guns are included
in the NCIC files when citizens report the theft to law enforcement
agencies which submit a report to the FBI.  All entries must include
make, caliber, and serial number.  Initiated in 1967, the NCIC stolen gun
file retains all entries indefinitely unless a recovery is reported.     

Most stolen guns are handguns

Victims report to the Victim Survey that in 53% of the thefts of guns,
handguns were stolen.  The FBI's stolen gun file's 2 million reports
include information on--
1.26 million handguns (almost 60%)  
470,000 rifles (22%)
356,000 shotguns (17%).

From 1985 to 1994, the FBI received an annual average 
of over 274,000 reports of stolen guns 

(graphic:  Number of stolen gun entries into NCIC)

Source:  FBI, National Crime Information Center, 1995.

How many automatic weapons are stolen? 

Under the provisions of the National Firearms Act, all automatic weapons
such as machine guns must be registered with the ATF.  In 1995, over
240,000 automatic weapons were registered with the ATF.  As of March
1995, the NCIC stolen gun file contained reports on about 7,700 machine
guns and submachine guns.

What types of handguns are most frequently stolen?

Most frequently reported handguns in the NCIC stolen gun file 

Percent  
of stolen 
handguns    Number      Caliber     Type 

20.5%       259,184       .38       Revolver 
11.7        147,681       .22       Revolver 
11.6        146,474       .357      Revolver 
8.8         111,558        9 mm     Semiautomatic 
7.0          87,714       .25       Semiautomatic 
6.7          84,474       .22       Semiautomatic 
5.4          68,112       .380      Semiautomatic 
3.7          46,503       .45       Semiautomatic 
3.3          41,318       .32       Revolver 
3.1          39,254       .44       Revolver 
1.5          18,377       .32       Semiautomatic 
1.3          16,214       .45       Revolver 

Upon request, the ATF traces some guns used in crime to their origin

The National Tracing Center of ATF traces firearms to their original point
of sale upon the request of police agencies.  The requesting agency may
use this information to assist in identifying suspects, providing evidence
for subsequent prosecution, establishing stolen status, and proving
ownership.   The number of requests for firearms traces increased from
37,181 in 1990 to 85,132 in 1994. 

Trace requests represent an unknown portion of all the guns used in
crimes.  ATF is not able to trace guns manufactured before 1968, most
surplus military weapons, imported guns without the importer's name,
stolen guns, and guns missing a legible serial number. 
 
Police agencies do not request traces on all firearms used in crimes.  Not
all firearms used in crimes are recovered so that a trace could be done
and, in some States and localities, the police agencies may be able to
establish ownership locally without going to the ATF.  
  
Most trace requests concern handguns

Over half of the guns that police agencies asked ATF to trace were pistols
and another quarter were revolvers.  

Type of gun         Percent of all
                    1994 traces  

    Total           100.0% 
Handguns             79.1 
   Pistol            53.0 
   Pistol revolver   24.7 
   Pistol derringer   1.4 
Rifle                11.1 
Shotgun               9.7 
Other, including    
machinegun            0.1 

While trace requests for all types of guns increased in recent years, the
number of pistols traced increased the most, doubling from 1990 to 1994.

What are the countries of origin of the guns that are traced?

Traced guns come from many countries across the globe.  However, 78%
of the guns that were traced in 1994 originated in the United States and
most of the rest were from--
Brazil (5%)
Germany (3%)
China (3%)
Austria (3%)
Italy (2%)
Spain (2%).  

Almost a third of the guns traced by ATF in 1994 were 3 years old or less

Age of              Traces completed in 1994
traced guns         Number      Percent      
                  
   Total            83,362       100%     
Less than 1 year     4,072         5     
1 year              11,617        14     
2 years              6,764         8     
3 years              4,369         5     

What crimes are most likely to result in a gun tracing request?            
                                
                                    
                 Percent of traces by crime type
                 ---------------------------------------------------
                        Handgun 
         Percent        --------------------------------------------
         of all                        Pistol  Pistol
Crime    1994                          der-    revol-         Shot-
type     traces  Total  Total  Pistol  ringer  ver     Rifle  gun
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Weapon 
offenses   72%    100%   81%     55%     1%     25%     10%    9% 
Drug 
offenses   12     100    75      50      2      23      14    11 
Homicide    6     100    79      49      1      29      11    10 
Assault     5     100    80      50      1      28      10    11 
Burglary    2     100    57      34      1      22      24    19 
Robbery     2     100    84      53      1      29       7    10 
Other       2     100    76      54      1      21      14    10 

Note:  Detail may not add to total because of rounding. 
Source:  ATF, unpublished data, May 1995.                                   
 

What guns are the most frequently traced?

The most frequently traced guns vary from year to year.  The ATF
publishes a list of the 10 specific guns most frequently traced annually. 
The total number of traced guns on the top 10 list was 18% of the total
traced 1991-94.  Most of the top 10 guns were pistols (over 30% were .25
caliber pistols), although a number of revolvers and a few shotguns and
rifles were also included.  The most frequently traced gun was a Smith
and Wesson .38 caliber revolver in 1990, the Raven Arms P25, a .25
caliber pistol from 1991 through 1993 , and the Lorcin P25 in 1994.  

10 most frequently traced guns in 1994                     
                                                Number
Rank  Manufacturer   Model   Caliber   Type     traced 
                    
1     Lorcin         P25      .25      Pistol   3,223 
2     Davis 
      Industries     P380     .38      Pistol   2,454 
3     Raven Arms     MP25     .25      Pistol   2,107 
4     Lorcin         L25      .25      Pistol   1,258 
5     Mossburg       500       12G     Shotgun  1,015 
6     Phoenix 
      Arms           Raven    .25      Pistol     959 
7     Jennings       J22      .22      Pistol     929 
8     Ruger          P89       9 mm    Pistol     895 
9     Glock          12        9 mm    Pistol     843 
10    Bryco          38       .38      Pistol     820 

 Source:  ATF, May 1995. 

What caliber guns do criminals prefer?

In their 1983 study, Wright, Rossi, and Daly asked a sample of felons
about the handgun they had most recently acquired.  Of the felons
sampled--
* 29% had acquired a .38 caliber handgun
* 20% had acquired a .357 caliber handgun
* 16% had acquired a .22 caliber handgun.

Sheley and Wright found that the juveniles inmates in their 1991 sample
in four States preferred large caliber, high quality handguns.  Just prior
to their confinement--  
* 58% owned a revolver, usually a .38 or .357 caliber gun
* 55% owned a semiautomatic handgun, usually a 9 millimeter or .45
caliber gun
* 51% owned a sawed-off shotgun
* 35% owned a military-style automatic or semiautomatic rifle.
 
Do juvenile offenders use different types of guns than adult offenders?

A study of adult and juvenile offenders by the Virginia Department of
Criminal Justice Services found that juvenile offenders were more likely
than adults to have carried a semiautomatic pistol at the crime scene (18%
versus 7%).

They also were more likely to have carried a revolver (10% versus 7%). 
The same proportion of adults and juveniles (3%) carried a shotgun or
rifle at the crime scene.

Some studies of guns used in homicides provide information about caliber

McGonigal and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania Medical
Center studied firearm homicides that occurred in Philadelphia, 145 in
1985 and the 324 in 1990.  Most of the firearms used in the homicides
studied were handguns; 90% in 1985 and 95% in 1990.  In both years,
revolvers were the predominant type of handgun used, however, the use
of semiautomatic pistols increased from 24% in 1985 to 38% in 1990. 
The caliber of the handguns used also changed :

In Philadelphia, handguns most often used:                 

In 1985, of 91 homicides         
44%  .38 caliber revolver      
19%  .25 caliber pistol        
14%  .22 caliber revolver     
14%  .32 caliber revolver     
 3%   9 mm pistol               
 2%  .357 caliber revolver      

In 1990, of 204 homicides  
23%    9 mm pistol 
18%   .38 caliber revolver 
16%   .357 caliber revolver 
16%   .22 caliber revolver 
10%   .32 caliber revolver 

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services studied 844
homicides that occurred in 18 jurisdictions from 1989 through 1991. 
Firearms were identified as the murder weapon in 600 cases.  Over 70%
of the firearms used were handguns.  Of those handguns where the caliber
and firing action could be identified, 19% were a .38 caliber revolver,
10% were .22 caliber revolvers, and 9% were 9 millimeter semiautomatic
pistols.

The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Crime Prevention
Division, studied 59 firearms-related homicides in Honolulu from 1988 to
1992.  Handguns were used in 48 homicides (over 80%) including 11
handguns of 9 millimeter caliber, 10 of .357 caliber, 10 of .38 caliber,
and 5 of .25 caliber.

What caliber guns are used in the killings of law enforcement officers?

From 1982 to 1993, of the 687 officers who were killed by firearms other
than their own guns, more were killed by .38 caliber handguns than by
any other type of weapon.

                         Percent of law  
                         enforcement
                         officers killed 
Type of firearm          with a firearm     

.38 caliber handgun         25.2%     
.357 Magnum handgun         12.1     
 9 millimeter handgun        9.5     
 12 gauge shotgun            7.4     
.22 caliber handgun          5.4     
.22 caliber rifle            4.4     

How often are assault weapons used in crime?

Little information exists about the use of assault weapons in crime.  The
information that does exist uses varying definitions of assault weapons that
were developed before the Federal assault weapons ban was enacted.

In general, assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms with a large
magazine of ammunition that were designed and configured for rapid fire
and combat use.  An assault weapon can be a pistol, a rifle, or a shotgun. 
The Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
bans the manufacture and sale of 19 specific assault weapons identified by
make and manufacturer.  It also provides for a ban on those weapons that
have a combination of features such as flash suppressors and grenade
launchers.  The ban does not cover those weapons legally possessed
before the law was enacted.  The National Institute of Justice will be
evaluating the effect of the ban and reporting to Congress in 1997.

In 1993 prior to the passage of the assault weapons ban, the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), reported that about 1% of the
estimated 200 million guns in circulation were assault weapons.  Of the
gun tracing requests received that year by ATF from law enforcement
agencies, 8% involved assault weapons.   

Assault weapons and homicide

A New York State Statistical Analysis Center study of homicides in 1993
in New York City found that assault weapons were involved in 16% of the
homicides studied.  The definition of assault weapons used was from
proposed but not enacted State legislation that was more expansive than
the Federal legislation.  By matching ballistics records and homicide files,
the study found information on 366 firearms recovered in the homicides
of 271 victims.  Assault weapons were linked to the deaths of 43 victims
(16% of those studied).    

A study by the Virginia State Statistical Analysis Center reviewed the files
of 600 firearms murders that occurred in 18 jurisdictions from 1989 to
1991.  The study found that handguns were used in 72% of the murders
(431 murders).  Ten guns were identified  as assault weapons, including
5 pistols, 4 rifles, and 1 shotgun.     

Assault weapons and offenders

In the 1991 BJS Survey of State <**>Inmates, about 8% of the inmates
reported that they had owned a military-type weapon, such as an Uzi,
AK-47, AR-15, or M-16.  Less than 1% said that they carried such a
weapon when they committed the incident for which they were
incarcerated.  A Virginia inmate survey conducted between November
1992 and May 1993 found similar results:  About 10% of the adult
inmates reported that they had ever possessed an assault rifle, but none
had carried it at the scene of a crime.  

Two studies indicate higher proportions of juvenile offenders reporting
possession and use of assault rifles.  The Virginia inmate survey also
covered 192 juvenile offenders.  About 20% reported that they had
possessed an assault rifle and 1% said that they had carried it at the scene
of a crime.  In 1991, Sheley and Wright surveyed 835 serious juvenile
offenders incarcerated in 6 facilities in 4 States.  In the Sheley and Wright
study, 35% of the juvenile inmates reported that they had owned a
military-style automatic or semi-automatic rifle just prior to confinement.

Sources
  
Assault Weapons and Homicide in New York City, Office of Justice
Systems Analysis, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services,
May 1994.

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, ATF Facts, November 1994.

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Firearms & Explosives Tracing
Guidebook, September 1993.

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, unpublished data.

BJS, Criminal Victimization 1993, Bulletin NCJ-151658, May 1995.

BJS, Guns and Crime, Crime Data Brief, NCJ-147003, April 1994.

BJS, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1992, unpublished data

BJS, Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991,  NCJ-136949, March 1993.

"Crimes Committed with Firearms in the State of Hawaii, 1983-1992,"
Crime Trends Series, Department of the Attorney General, Crime
Prevention Division, Volume 2, Issue 1, April 1994.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States 1993, October
4, 1994.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and
Assaulted, 1987-1992.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Crime Information Center,
unpublished data.

Giannelli, Paul C.,  "Ballistics Evidence:  Firearms Identification,"
Criminal Law Bulletin, 
May-June 1991.

Guns and Violent Crime, Criminal Justice Research Center,
Commonwealth of Virginia 

Department of Criminal Justice Services, January 1994 with updated data
for homicide study.

McGonigal, Michael D., MD, John Cole, BS, C. William Schwab, MD,
Donald R. Kauder, MD, Michael, R. Rotondo, MD, and Peter B.
Angood, "Urban Firearm Deaths:  A Five-year Perspective," The Journal
of Trauma, Vol. 35, No. 4, October 1993, pp. 532-537. 

Sheley, Joseph F. and James D. Wright, "Gun Acquisition and Possession
in Selected Juvenile Samples," National Institute of Justice and Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Research in Brief,
NCJ-145326, December 1993.

Wright, James D., and Peter H. Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous
(New York:  Adline de Gruyter) 1986.

Wright, James D., Peter H. Rossi, and Kathleen Daly, Under the Gun: 
Weapons, Crime, and Violence in America (New York:  Adline de
Gruyter) 1983.

Acknowledgments

The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical arm of the U.S.
Department of Justice.  Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D., is director.  

The BJS Selected Findings  publication series presents relevant statistical
information, both historical and recent, about a topic of current concern. 
Selected Findings usually present data from both Bureau of Justice
Statistics programs and other sources.

Substantial assistance in preparing this document was provided by Roy
Weise and Gary Boatman of the Criminal Justice Information Systems
Division of the FBI; Edward Troiano, Emmett Masterson, Gerald
Nunziato, Gary Kirchoff, and Kris Denholm of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms; Jim McDonough of the Virginia Department of
Criminal Justice Services; Henry Brownstein and Kelly Haskin-Tenenini
of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, and Larry
Greenfeld, Thomas Hester, and Michael Rand of the Bureau of Justice
Statistics.  Verification and publication review was provided by Yvonne
Boston, Ida Hines, and Priscilla Middleton of the Bureau of Justice
Statistics.

July 1995, NCJ-148201

"Guns Used In Crime" is the first of a series of reports on firearms and
crime that will become part of a longer document, "Firearms, Crime, and
Criminal Justice."  Other topics to be covered in this series include
weapons offenses and offenders, how criminals obtain guns, and
intentional firearm injury.  The full report will focus on the use of guns
in crime, trends in gun crime, consequences of gun crimes, characteristics
of offenders who use guns, and sanctions for offenders who use guns.
This report will not cover the involvement of firearms in accidents or
suicides.

end of file





Owning Topic : T=Reference and Statistics - 202 E= 1417 Type = e

