Title: Novel Linkage of Individual and Geographic Data to Study Firearm Violence

Publication Date: August 2008

What does it say?

The city of Philadelphia has an average of 5 shootings a day, with a maximum of 21 shootings in a single day and an average of only 9 days a year that are shooting-free.  Ninety-two percent of the shootings are assaults; 5 percent are self-inflicted, and 2 percent are unintentional. Eighteen percent of people shot in an assault died, while 91 percent of people who attempted to kill themselves with a gun died.

How can I use it?

This study uses a novel approach to linking data on individual and community level factors to get a full picture of the problem of gun violence in the city of Philadelphia.  Much more data will be generated by the system of data collection than the brief statistics included above.

This data documents the toll of easy access to dangerous weapons by dangerous people.  Send this study to your mayor not only to raise awareness of the issue of gun violence in cities but to provide ideas about how to link data across the city to help local policymakers make the best decisions about how to keep guns out of the hands of criminals or the dangerously mentally ill.

Citation

Branas, Charles C., Dennis Culhane, Therese S. Richmond, and Douglas Wiebe, ”Novel Linkage of Individual and Geographic Data to Study Firearm Violence,” Homicide Studies 12:3 (August 2008): 298-320.