Guns Used in Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal
Justice—Selected Findings, 7/95. Provides information
from several sources about the guns used by criminals.
NCJ 148201
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/guic.htm
Guns Used In Crime: Firearms, Crime, and Criminal
Justice Since there is no national collection of data
about the guns used by criminals, this report provides
information from several sources, including the FBI
National Crime Information Center’s stolen gun
file, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
National Tracing Center, the BJS National Crime Victimization
Survey, the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, the BJS Survey
of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, other
inmate surveys, and special studies of homicides involving
guns. The report covers how often guns are used in
crime, what categories of firearms are most often used,
and what type of guns is preferred by criminals. This
is the first of a series of reports on firearms and
crime that will be part of a comprehensive report entitled
Firearms, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Includes bibliography.
7/95 NCJ 148201
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/guic.pdf
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.
Firing action
Fully 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.
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.
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 ¾
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.
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 a theft to law
enforcement agencies that 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
handguns were stolen in 53% of the
thefts of guns. The FBI’s stolen gun
file’s 2 million reports include information
on ¾
1.26 million handguns (almost 60%)
470,000 rifles (22%)
356,000 shotguns (17%).
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
The National Tracing Center of ATF traces firearms
to their original point of sale upon the request of
police agencies.
The requesting agency can 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.
10 most frequently traced guns in 1994
Rank Manufacturer Model Caliber Type Number 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 17 9 mm Pistol 843
10 Bryco 38 .38 Pistol 820
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 ¾
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 juvenile 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.
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 Division of Criminal
Justice Services 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 Department of
Criminal Justice Services reviewed
the files of 600 firearm 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
five pistols, four rifles, and one
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 semiauto |
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