You can hear the press conference on the "Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review" report and some Q & A's from the link: http://www.nap.edu/webcast/webcast_detail.php?webcast_id=296
The actual realplayer audio of the press release is at: http://video.nationalacademies.org/ramgen/news/isbn/0309091241.rm The press release and link is at: http://www4.nationalacademies.org/news.nsf/isbn/s0309091241?OpenDocument Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review National Research Council News Conference Dec. 16, 2004 Opening Statement by Charles F. Wellford Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Director, Maryland Justice Analysis Center University of Maryland, College Park and Chair, Committee to Improve Research Information and Data on Firearms Good morning. On behalf of the National Academies' National Research Council and the Committee to Improve Research Information and Data on Firearms, I would like to welcome everyone in the room and those listening via our live audio webcast. I am pleased to be here today with four of my fellow committee members to present the new report, Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review. The committee was broadly charged with providing an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing social science data and research on firearms. Although there is a large body of empirical research on firearms and violence, there is little agreement on even the basic facts regarding important policy issues related to firearms. The committee's report deals with what current research can and cannot tell us about the role of firearms in violence. The report does not address specific firearms policies, such as the issue of gun control. Rather, its recommendations address how to improve the empirical foundation for future discussions about firearms policy. Over the past few decades, there have been many studies of the relationship between violence and access to firearms; family and community factors that influence lethal behavior; the extent and value of defensive firearm use; the operation of legal and illegal gun markets; and the effectiveness of efforts to reduce the harms from or to increase the benefits associated with gun use. Our task was to evaluate these studies and the data on which they are based. To be sure, a number of research studies on firearms and violence have resulted in findings that can inform policy decisions. The committee's major conclusion, however, is that the existing data and research methods cannot answer some of the most pressing policy issues in this area. Although there have been some well-designed studies on policy issues, the underlying data and the methods used are not strong enough to draw policy conclusions. For example: The literature on "right-to-carry" laws has obtained conflicting estimates of their effects on crime, despite the fact that data and methods used in these studies differ in only minor ways. Thirty-four states have enacted these laws, which allow qualified adults to carry concealed handguns. However, we found no credible evidence that such policies either decrease or increase violent crime. There is no credible evidence that the more than 80 gun-violence prevention programs reviewed by the committee have had any effect on children's or teens' attitudes, knowledge, or behavior regarding firearms. And although research does show associations between gun availability and suicide with guns, that research does not show whether such associations reflect actual cause and effect. Should regulations restrict who may possess firearms? Should there be restrictions on the number or types of guns that can be purchased? Should safety locks be required? Answers to these questions involve issues that go beyond research on firearm violence. These policy questions cannot be informed by current studies. Available data are too weak to support strong conclusions. Therefore, we believe that one of the most pressing needs is to pursue the data and research that are needed to fill knowledge gaps and, in turn, inform debate in this important policy area. Our committee identified key approaches to strengthen the research base on firearms and violence. We also believe that the federal government should support a rigorous research program in this area. Research linking firearms to criminal violence and suicide is limited by a lack of credible data on firearm ownership (including possession and access) and individuals' encounters with violence. The committee found that the existing data on gun ownership and use are the biggest barriers to better understanding gun violence. Without better data, many basic questions cannot be answered. Such data will not solve all problems of methodology. However, the almost complete absence of this information from the scientific literature makes it extremely difficult to understand the complex interpersonal, social, and other factors that determine whether or not a firearm will be used to commit a violent act. We realize that many people have deep concerns about expanding the government's data on gun ownership. We also recognize that some people may refuse to supply this information, especially those who use guns illegally. Yet scientists in other fields, such as drug use behavior, have found more effective ways to collect individual data on sensitive topics. We recommend that research be done to determine whether gun- ownership data can be more accurately collected with minimal risk to legitimate concerns regarding privacy and confidentiality. Assessing the potential of ongoing national surveys to provide useful data on firearms should be a starting point. For instance, our report notes that questions about gun use and access could be added to or fine- tuned in several ongoing federal surveys. For research purposes, scientists also need appropriate access to federal and state data on gun use, manufacturing, and sales. Many Americans acquire firearms to defend themselves. Yet our examination of the literature showed that research devoted to understanding the defensive and deterrent effects of guns has yielded mixed and sometimes widely different findings. In addition, the accuracy of responses in gun-use surveys is a topic that has not been thoroughly investigated. The committee calls for systematic research to define what is being measured in studies of defensive and deterrent effects of guns, to reduce reporting errors in national gun-use surveys, and to explore ways that different data sets may be linked to answer complex questions. The committee looked at many interventions to reduce violence and suicide. Here, I must emphasize that even if it were shown that firearms clearly cause lethal violence, it would still be difficult to develop successful programs to reduce this violence. That's because interventions would have to address other factors in addition to gun use. The intent of the people involved, the nature of their interactions and relationships, their access to firearms, and the level of law enforcement are critical in explaining when and why firearm violence occurs. Without attention to this complexity, it's hard to understand the role that firearms play in violence. Firearms are bought and sold in formal markets such as gun shops, and informal ones such as gun shows. Market-based interventions aimed at limiting access to guns for certain groups, such as convicted felons or juveniles, include restrictions on who can purchase guns and limits on the number of firearms that can be purchased in a given period. Arguments for and against these approaches are largely based on speculation -- not on scientific evidence. Data on gun markets are only now beginning to emerge. We believe that greater attention should be paid to research design and data needs regarding gun pipelines. More studies also should be done on potential links between firearms policies and suicide rates. In America's schools, programs to prevent gun violence are quite common. But it's difficult to say how these programs may affect injury rates or violence in general. Few of the programs narrowly focused on gun-violence prevention have been thoroughly evaluated. And some studies suggest that these programs actually increase the appeal of guns among young people, especially children. Trigger locks and other gun-safety technologies also have been proposed as a way to prevent injuries, yet how these technologies affect injury rates remains unknown. We recommend that programs for prevention of gun violence include evaluation components. Ongoing research is needed to study the effects of different safety technologies on violence and crime, and to build on successful, broader, school-based violence prevention efforts. Available scientific evidence on how policing interventions and tougher sentencing policies affect firearms violence is both limited and mixed, but some results are encouraging. Police efforts to target guns and young offenders, and sentencing enhancements for gun offenses, should be further explored. When it comes to the study of firearms and violence, data limitations are simply immense at this time. That's why our report, like several other Research Council studies related to violence, calls for the continued development of the CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System and the National Incident-Based Reporting System that has been initiated by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (These systems provide basic data on crime and violence that are vital. The data they include on firearms combined with these broader data on violent injury and death could greatly advance research on violence and firearms.) They would also inform politicians and other authorities, who aspire to formulate public policy with a much better understanding of what is known -- and not known -- about firearms and violence. That concludes my opening statement. My colleagues on the committee and I would be happy to answer questions from reporters in the room and those listening on the Web. Please use one of the microphones to ask your question or use the e-mail link on the National Academies' Web site. Be sure to first identify yourself by name and affiliation. Thank you. ### _______________________________________________ To post, send message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
