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

• NCJ Number: 147003
• Author(s): Michael R. Rand, Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Date Published: April 1994
• Publication Type: Publication

Annotation

Provides estimates of the extent of handgun crime in the United States through 1992, as well as estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey of thefts of firearms and the extent of firearm use for self-defense.

Abstract

This report provides new estimates of the extent of handgun crime in the United States, as well as the first estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey of thefts of firearms and the extent of firearm use for self-defense. Using data from 1987 through 1992, the report compares the handgun victimization experience of the various age, race, and sex subgroups of the Nation's population and examines the consequences of such victimization. The report also discusses the consequences and outcomes of crimes in which victims used firearms for self-defense.