Gun violence

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This special collection brings together evidence and insights from nonprofits, foundations, and research organizations working to understand the full impact of firearm use and gun violence in the US. By providing us with analyses of current state and federal laws as well as valuable data on suicides, homicides, accidents, and mass shootings, these organizations seek to inform sound public policy and to curb this ongoing public health epidemic.

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Detroit, Michigan, The Cost of Gun Violence: The Direct Cost to Tax Payers

October 5, 2023

The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) was commissioned by the Public Welfare Foundation to conduct this detailed analysis that documents the government expenses accompanying every fatal or non-fatal shooting in Detroit. In tracking the direct costs per shooting incident, NICJR has deliberately used the low end of the range for each expense. This study does not include the loss-of-production costs when the victim or suspect were working at the time of the incident. Nationally, those costs have been estimated at an additional $1–2 million for each shooting incident. This means that the calculated cost of $1,719,087 for a fatal shooting in Detroit is a conservative estimate; the real cost is likely even higher.

Oakland, California, The Cost of Gun Violence: The Direct Cost to Tax Payers

September 28, 2023

The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) has conducted this detailed analysis that documents the government expenses accompanying every fatal and non-fatal shooting in Oakland. In tracking the direct costs per shooting incident, NICJR has deliberately used the low end of the range for each expense. This study does not include the loss-of-production costs when the victim or suspect were working at the time of the incident. Nationally, those costs have been estimated at an additional $1–2 million for each shooting incident. This means that the calculated cost of $3,191,722 for a fatal shooting in Oakland is a conservative estimate; the real cost is likely even higher.

The Disarm Hate Act Would Help Prevent Hate-Motivated Gun Violence

September 13, 2023

Weak gun laws at the federal level and in states such as Florida enable people radicalized by identity-based hate to commit deadly acts of violence against vulnerable communities. Every day, more than 28 hate crimes are committed with a gun, and with the number of hate crimes that law enforcement reports to the FBI at an all-time high, it is more urgent than ever for Congress to pass legislation that bars individuals with a history of committing hate crimes from accessing firearms.On September 13, 2023, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Maxwell Frost (D-FL) reintroduced the Disarm Hate Act. This legislation would help prevent acts of hate-motivated gun violence by prohibiting individuals convicted of violent-misdemeanor hate crimes from purchasing or possessing firearms.

Have U.S. Gun Buyback Programs Misfired?

September 6, 2023

There are 1.2 guns for every person in the United States, and the total number of firearms in circulation is estimated to be over 393 million. Gun violence is the leading cause of death among young men aged 15–19, and firearms are involved in 51 percent of completed suicides and 73 percent of all homicides. The link between the supply of firearms and gun violence has been the subject of intense debate among policymakers and academics studying the economics of crime. To limit the supply of firearms in circulation, a number of U.S. cities have implemented gun buyback programs (GBPs). GBPs use public funds to purchase civilians' privately owned firearms. We examined the effect of GBPs and found no evidence that they reduce gun crime.

Hospital-based Violence Intervention: Practices & Policies to End the Cycle of Violence

September 1, 2023

Read our position brief, issued in September 2023, to learn about:Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs)The future of HVIP researchRecommendations for building and sustaining successful HVIPs in the community violence intervention ecosystem

K-12 School Shootings in Context: New Findings from The American School Shooting Study (TASSS)

August 23, 2023

The American School Shooting Study (TASSS) is an ongoing mixed-method project funded by the National Institute of Justice to catalog US school shootings. It has amassed data based on open sources and other public materials dating back to 1990. This brief presents new insights from TASSS, diving deeper into the database's potential to examine the locations, timing, and student involvement of youth-perpetrated gun violence.

Can Mass Shootings Be Stopped? To Address the Problem, We Must Better Understand the Phenomenon: 2023 Edition

July 27, 2023

The mass shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, happened over two decades ago, yet it remains etched in the national consciousness. To this day, communities still are struggling to find solutions to the complex and multifaceted nature of mass shootings. Understanding the unique context of the mass public shootings phenomenon is necessary for policymakers, practitioners, and other vested stakeholders to work to reduce these incidents and their impacts. This brief provides updated analyses from the last two years (2021–22), building on previous work by the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium to identify trends and broader considerations related to mass public shootings.

Newark, New Jersey, The Cost of Gun Violence: The Direct Cost to Tax Payers

June 2, 2023

The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) conducted this detailed analysis that documents the government expenses accompanying every injury shooting in Newark. In tracking the direct costs per shooting incident, NICJR has deliberately used the low end of the range for each expense. This study does not include the loss-of-production costs when the victim or suspect were working at the time of the incident. Nationally, those costs have been estimated at an additional $1-2 million for each shooting incident. This means that the calculated cost of $2,188,700 for a homicide in Newark is a conservative estimate; the real cost is likely even higher.

Baltimore, Maryland, The Cost of Gun Violence: The Direct Cost to Tax Payers

June 2, 2023

The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) has conducted this Cost of Gun Violence study that documents the government expenses accompanying every injury shooting in Baltimore. In tracking the direct costs per shooting incident, NICJR has deliberately used the low to mid end of the range for each expense. This study does not include the loss-of-production costs when the victim or suspect were working at the time of the incident. Nationally, those costs have been estimated at an additional $1-2 million for each shooting incident. This means that NICJR's calculated cost of $2,427,333 for a homicide in Baltimore is a conservative estimate; the real cost is likely even higher.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, The Cost of Gun Violence: The Direct Cost to Tax Payers

June 2, 2023

The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) conducted this detailed analysis that documents the government expenses accompanying every injury shooting or homicide in Baton Rouge. In tracking the direct costs per shooting incident, NICJR has deliberately used the low end of the range for each expense. This study does not include the loss-of-production costs when the victim or suspect were working at the time of the incident. Nationally, those costs have been estimated at an additional $1-2 million for each shooting incident. This means that the calculated cost of $1,456,982 for a homicide in Baton Rouge is a conservative estimate; the real cost is likely even higher.

Curbing the Illicit Market: Enhancing Firearm Regulations to Reduce Gun Violence

May 24, 2023

Almost all of the firearms that end up on the streets are first sold through legally appointed federally licensed firearm dealers (FFLs) following manufacture or import. Given the unique ease of access to firearms in the US, there is a growing sense of urgency to better understand how crime guns are acquired and from where they originate to support much stronger supply-side efforts to address gun violence. Prior research has focused extensively on the large "secondary market" for firearms, where guns are transferred between unlicensed persons or to those legally prohibited from buying a firearm. In contrast, the focus of this policy brief is on the "primary market," which includes the legal retail sale of firearms from federally licensed firearm dealers (FFLs) to private consumers.

The Health Costs of Gun Violence: How the U.S. Compares to Other Countries

April 20, 2023

In the following seven charts, we illustrate how gun violence affects Americans compared to people in 13 other high-income countries. The data are drawn from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's (IHME) Global Burden of Disease database, the Small Arms Survey's Global Firearms Holdings database, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office's Firearm Injuries: Health Care Service Needs and Costs report (see "Data Sources and Methods" for details).