
Subject: Firearms and Crimes of Violence

U.S. Department of Justice


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           BJS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1994            202-307-0784


VIOLENT OFFENDERS INCREASINGLY LIKELY TO BE ARMED



        WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Violent offenders are increasingly
likely to be armed, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) said
today.  While the overall violent crime rate decreased during the
last decade, the rate of offenses committed with pistols and
revolvers rose from 9.2 percent in 1979 to 12.7 percent in 1992.

        From 1987 through 1992 there was an annual average of
858,000 rapes, robberies and assaults with firearms of all types,
according to BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey.  The F.B.I.
reported 16,000 firearm murders during 1992, and the number of all
violent crimes with firearms reported to the F.B.I. grew 55 percent
from 1987 through 1992--from 365,709 to 565,575.

        Young people from 16 through 19 years old were the most
frequent victims of firearm violence.  During 1992 this age group
had a per capita firearm victimization rate 21 percent higher than
those 20 through 24 years old, three times the rate for those aged
35-49, almost eight times higher than those aged 50-64 and 15 times
higher than those 65 years old or older.

        The data are from a "Selected Highlights on Firearms and
Crime of Violence:  Selected Findings from National Statistical
Series" report that also noted:

        --Between 1987 and 1992 there were 415 law enforcement
officers murdered--91 percent with firearms--73 percent handguns, 19
percent rifles and 8 percent shotguns (excluding those cases in
which the officer's own gun was used).

        --In a nationally representative sample of state prison
inmates, 16 percent said they were carrying a firearm during the
commission of the offense for which they were serving time, and
one-half of those said they fired the weapon during the crime.

        --Among state prison inmates with a prior adult criminal
record who possessed handguns, 23 percent said they bought the
weapon from a retail store.

        --An estimated 5,000 murderers who were serving time in a
state prison for committing a crime with a handgun had purchased
their gun in a store or gun shop despite having had a prior record.

        --More than 50 percent of the prison inmates who obtained a
handgun illegally said they did so to avoid a background check or a
waiting period.

        --From 1987 through 1991 the number of firearm homicides
among young people 15 to 19 years old grew 66 percent for white
females, 32 percent for black females, 108 percent for white males
and 137 percent for black males.

        Single copies of the report, "Firearms and Crimes of
Violennce" (order number NCJ-146844), may be obtained from the
National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Box 6000, Rockville,
Maryland 20850.  The telephone number is 1-800-732-3277.


94-35
After hours contact: Stu Smith 301-983-9354
U.S. Department of Justice


