NCJ Number
180578
Journal
Alaska Justice Forum Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 1999 Pages: 1-8
Editor(s)
Antonia Moras
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the use of guns in violent crimes in Alaska and the United States notes that guns were used in a solid majority of the murders committed each year from 1980 through 1997 in the United States.
Abstract
Offenders most often used handguns in these crimes. The figures fluctuated more in Alaska than in the United States as a whole, but for most years for which data are available, the majority of murders and non-negligent homicides in Alaska involved firearms. Other violent crime categories for which the Uniform Crime Reporting Program assembles data revealed less frequent, although still substantial use of firearms, particularly in the category of robbery. The changes in firearms use in the United States during the study period corresponded to similar rises and falls in the total number of homicides. The percentage of murders committed with firearms in Alaska fluctuated from 44 percent in 1991 to 73 percent in 1985. The annual national totals for the various categories are estimates. In addition, the series of numbers have some gaps, particularly for Alaska. Furthermore, some Alaska police agencies chose not to participate in the crime reporting in any given year. Tables and figures