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

Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief

Guns and Crime: Handgun Victimization, Firearm Self-Defense, and
Firearm Theft

April 1994, NCJ-147003

Full text with tables available from:
Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse
800-732-3277 (fax number for report orders and mail list signup
only: 410-792-4358)
Box 179
Annapolis Junction, MD. 20701-0179

By Michael R. Rand, BJS Statistician

In 1992 offenders armed with handguns committed a record 931,000
violent crimes.  Handgun crimes accounted for  about 13% of all
violent crimes.  As measured by the National Crime Victimization
Survey (NCVS), the rate of nonfatal handgun victimizations in
1992--4.5 crimes per 1,000 people age 12 or older--supplanted the
record of 4.0 per 1,000 in 1982.

On average in 1987-92 about 83,000 crime victims per year used a
firearm to defend themselves or their property.  Three-fourths of
the victims who used a firearm for defense did so during a violent
crime; a fourth, during a theft, household burglary, or motor
vehicle theft.

Handguns and crime, 1987-92

                                       Annual
                                       average,
                              1992      1987-91
                            ___________________

Handgun crimes              930,700    667,000
   Homicide                  13,200     10,600
   Rape                      11,800     14,000
   Robbery                  339,000    225,100
   Assault                  566,800    417,300

Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.  Data for
homicide come from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports.

For 1987-92 victims reported an annual average of about 341,000
incidents of firearm theft.  Because the NCVS asks for types but not
a count of items stolen, the annual total of firearms stolen
probably exceeded the number of incidents.

Males, blacks, and the young had the highest rates of handgun crime
victimization, 1987-92

                       Average annual rate of crimes committed
                       with handguns (per 1,000 persons)*
              ______________________________________________________________
                     Male victims                     Female victims
Age of       ________________________________________________________
Victim        Total    White    Black        Total     White   Black
____________________________________________________________________

All ages       4.9      3.7     14.2           2.1      1.6     5.8
12-15          5.0      3.1     14.1           2.5      2.1     4.7
16-19         14.2      9.5     39.7           5.1      3.6    13.4
20-24         11.8      9.2     29.4           4.3      3.5     9.1
25-34          5.7      4.9     12.3           3.1      2.1     9.0
35-49          3.3      2.7      8.7           1.7      1.4     3.3
50-64          1.5      1.2      3.5           0.8      0.7     1.6
65 or older    0.8      0.6      3.7           0.3      0.2     2.3

*Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in each age category.  Rates
do not include murder or nonnegligent manslaughter committed with
handguns.  The totals include persons of other races not shown
separately.

Violent crime rates

Unlike the record rate of handgun crimes in 1992, the overall rates
for violent crimes were well below the 1981 peaks. (Except where
noted, this brief excludes homicides, which NCVS does not measure.)
The total 1992 rate for rape, robbery, and aggravated and simple
assault was 35 per 1,000 persons, compared to 39 per 1,000 in 1981.
The 1992 rate of 17 per 1,000 for the more serious violent crimes
(rape, robbery, and aggravated assault)*was also less than the 20
per 1,000 in 1981.

Most likely victims of handgun crime

*Males were twice as likely as females to be victims of handgun
crimes, and blacks 3 times as likely as whites.

*Young black males continued to be the population subgroup most
vulnerable to handgun crime victimization.

For males age 16-19--
            The rate for blacks (40 per 1,000 persons)
            was 4 times that of whites (10 per 1,000).
For males age 20-24--
            The rate for blacks (29 per 1,000)
            was 3 times that of whites (9 per 1,000).

When offenders fired at victims

*Offenders fired their weapon in 17% of all nonfatal handgun crimes
(or about 2% of all violent crimes).  In 3% of all handgun crimes,
the victim was wounded.  The offender shot at but missed the victim
in 14% of all handgun crimes.  Victims did not report if offenders
had tried to hit the victim or missed intentionally.

Self-defense with firearms

*38% of the victims defending themselves with a firearm attacked the
offender, and the others threatened the offender with the weapon.

*A fifth of the victims defending themselves with a firearm suffered
an injury, compared to almost half of those who defended themselves
with weapons other than a firearm or who had no weapon.  Care should
be used in interpreting these data because many aspects of
crimes--including victim and offender characteristics, crime
circumstances, and offender intent--contribute to the victims'
injury outcomes.


About three-fourths of the victims who used firearms for
self-defense did so during a crime of violence, 1987-92

                              Average annual number of victimizations
                              in which victims used firearms to defend
                              themselves or their property
                        __________________________________________
                                      Attacked         Threatened
                          Total        offender         offender
                        __________________________________________
       All crimes        82,500        30,600           51,900

Total violent crime      62,200        25,500           36,700

   With injury           12,100         7,300            4,900
   Without injury        50,000        18,200           31,800

Theft, burglary,
motor vehicle theft      20,300         5,100           15,200

Note:  Detail may not add to total because of rounding.  Includes
victimizations in which offenders were unarmed.  Excludes homicides.

*In most cases victims who used firearms to defend themselves or
their property were confronted by offenders who were either unarmed
or armed with weapons other than firearms.  On average between 1987
and 1992, about 35% (or 22,000 per year) of the violent crime
victims defending themselves with a firearm faced an offender who
also had a firearm.  (Because the NCVS collects victimization data
on police officers, its estimates of the use of firearms for
self-defense are likely to include police use of firearms.
Questionnaire revisions introduced in January 1993 will permit
separate consideration of police and civilian firearm cases.)

Offenders shot at victims in 17% of handgun crimes, 1987-92

                             Percent
                             _______

Shot at victim                 16.6%
Hit victim                      3.0
Missed victim                  13.6
Nongunshot injury               1.6
No physical injury             12.0

Did not shoot at victim        83.4%
Other attack/attempt           19.9
Verbal threat of attack        15.4
Weapon present                 46.8
Other threat                     .8
Unknown action                   .5

    Average annual number      699,900

Note:  Excludes homicides.

Theft of firearms

*Although most thefts of firearms (64%) occurred during household
burglaries, a significant percentage (32%) occurred during
larcenies.  Loss of firearms through larceny was as likely to occur
away from the victim's home as at or near the home.  In 53% of the
firearm thefts, handguns were stolen.

341,000 incidents of firearm theft occurred per year, 1987-92

                               Average annual number
                               of victimizations in which
                               firearms were stolen
Crime in which           ____________________________________
firearm was stolen       Total       Handgun       Other gun
                         ____________________________________

    Total                340,700     180,500         160,200

Violent crime              7,900       5,300           2,600
Personal theft             6,200      33,900          22,300
Household theft           52,600      31,700          20,900
Household burglary       217,200     105,300            112,000
Motor vehicle theft        6,700       4,400           2,400

Note:  Detail may not add to total because of rounding.  The table
measures theft incidents, not numbers of guns stolen.  See third
paragraph of this report.

end of file


