Patterns of Gun Acquisition, Carrying, and Use Among Juvenile and Adult Arrestees: Evidence from a High‐Crime City

Abstract

Researchers continue to examine the macrolevel trends of gun crime but little consensus exists regarding the microlevel determinants of gun behaviors. Moreover, little is known if patterns of gun behavior vary between adults and juveniles. This research examines patterns of gun possession, carrying, and use across adult and juvenile arrestees. This research moves beyond descriptive studies of aggregate gun patterns and explores the demographic and perceptual correlates that may inhibit or facilitate gun behaviors. Current results illustrate the prevalence of gun-involved behaviors among adults and juveniles, though juveniles were more likely to carry and fire a gun. Results also suggest that gun behaviors among juveniles are largely driven by gang membership, while ready access to guns, fear of the street, and the risks of arrest influence adult behaviors. Present findings have implications for gun policy, particularly as it relates the role of deterrence-based programming and demand-side initiatives.

Firearm Violence and Effects on Concealed Gun Carrying: Large Debate and Small Effects

“…First, evidence suggests that violent crime is a predictor of legal gun ownership (Bordua & Lizotte, 1979;Kleck & Kovandzic, 2009) and legal handgun purchases (McDowall & Loftin, 1983). Moreover, fear of victimization has been linked to legal gun ownership within an individual's home (Miethe, 1995;Warr & Ellison, 2000) as well as carrying an illegal gun in public for purposes of self-protection (Bankston & Thompson, 1989;Vacha & McLaughlin, 2000;Watkins et al, 2008). Thus, it seems reasonable to assume violent crime could predict legal concealed firearm carrying.…”

Investigating the Relationship Between Gang Membership and Carrying a Firearm: Results from a National Sample

“…In fact, gun carrying was the only individual criminality factor that was impacted by the gang's behaviors. Watkins, Huebner, and Decker (2008) explored whether gun possession, frequency of gun carrying, and actually firing the gun were impacted by an individual's membership within a gang. The results indicated that gang membership was the strongest of ten predictors of gun carrying (Watkins et al, 2008).…”

Developing and Analyzing a Local Gun-Case Database: The Process and Related Issues

“…The relationship between offenders and victims [4,40] could not be tested. And it was impossible to analyze differences between male and female offenders [4], gang membership [5][6][7], and attitudes and mental health conditions of the offenders [22,[41][42][43].…”

“…Individual characteristics that are found to influence gun crimes include race [1,2], age [3,4], sex, gang membership [5][6][7], drug involvement, and juvenile and adult status [5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Gun crimes range from illegal possession [16,17], unlawfully receiving or transferring a firearm [18], to violent crimes such as robbery and homicide [17,19].…”