Reality check: using newspapers, police reports, and court records to assess defensive gun use

摘要: Objective: To identify legitimate defensive gun uses (DGUs), and provide a reality check on previous estimates of the rate DGUs by using novel approach based newspaper reports police court records. Previous have relied self report, differ factor 10 or more, are viewed as highly controversial. Design setting: The reported firearms in covering roughly Phoenix metropolitan area over almost 3.5 month period were examined, supplemented where necessary Results: Two involving killing assailants one firing at an assailant found. three stemmed from cases “mutual combat” exposed bystanders to gunfire. Conclusions: These findings cast doubt rates influential study Kleck Gertz, which predict that should known about 98 DGU killings woundings 236 firings adversaries during time was surveyed. here closer predictions National Crime Victimization Survey, suggest eight 19 adversaries.