The Multistate Project collected information from criminal history files, death records, Supplementary Homicide Reports, and Uniform Crime Reports. Firearm involvement accounted for only 1 percent of the 326,239 deaths occurring between 1991 and 1995. Guns were used in more than half of the homicides and suicides. Murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults involving a firearm totaled about 20 percent of the reported violent crimes and 2 percent of all serious crimes. Fifty-three percent of homicide incidents were firearm-related, usually handgun-related. A majority of the homicides occurred as the result of an argument; two-thirds of the argument-related homicides involved non-family members, 27 percent involved family members, and 7 percent were over money or property. The project provided insights about how states can carry out such cooperative endeavors and revealed the importance of completing thorough groundwork, following a detailed work plan, maintaining open communication, and following timelines. Figures, tables, and 30 references
Armed With Data: Creating a Multistate Perspective
NCJ Number
178585
Date Published
1998
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from a project established by Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota in the fall of 1996 to examine gun-related crime and current firearm-related laws across these states.
Abstract