Criminal as a Firearms Consumer (From Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms, P 161-180, 1986, James D Wright and Peter H Rossi, -- See NCJ-118888)

• NCJ Number: 118894
• Author(s): J D Wright; P H Rossi
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: Aldine de Gruyter Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

A self-administered questionnaire completed by a sample of 1,982 inmates imprisoned in 10 States was used to determine respondents' preferences for firearm characteristics and the characteristics of firearms actually owned.

Abstract

The respondent's ideal handgun was one with a lot of firepower (22 percent), well-made (17 percent), untraceable (13 percent), and easily concealed (13 percent). Price was the single most important factor to only 6 percent; small caliber, to only 3 percent. The preference for large, well-made handguns was particularly strong among those who had owned guns and used them to commit crimes. The preference for small, cheap handguns was strongest among respondents who neither owned guns nor used them in crime. No more than 15 percent of the most recent handguns possessed by the sample qualified as "Saturday night specials." The handgun arsenal of the sample was little different from the total arsenal of handguns possessed by the gun-owning public at large. In general, the respondents were not highly informed about either guns or gun laws. Those who had owned and used guns in crimes were the most knowledgeable about guns. 9 tables.