NCJ Number
123851
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 49-54
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Data were obtained from a major southeastern police department's 1976-1986 list of destroyed and confiscated weapons to analyze the types of firearms faced by police officers.
Abstract
The sample consisted of 4,254 firearms which ranged from BB guns to large-caliber, high-powered hunting and military type weapons. The basis of lethality analysis was caliber of the confiscated weapon. Findings revealed that most firearms destroyed by the department were handguns. Small-caliber weapons accounted for 66 percent of the total number of handguns destroyed. Eleven percent of the destroyed firearms were rifles, while 15 percent were shotguns. Results confirm the conclusion of previous studies that the handgun is the most preferred crime weapon. The authors recommend that police training programs incorporate criminal weapon use and caliber information into the development of physical and psychological tactics for safely handling encounters with potentially armed subjects. 12 references, 4 tables.