Measuring the Impact of Gun Theft on City-Level Gun Crime Rates

<p>The history of gun culture in the United States is complicated. Guns are an integral part of American history and attempts to control them through policy are often contentious. However, research suggests that gun crime occurs in areas where there are more guns (Braga, 2017; Braga & Pierce, 2005; Cook, Harris, Ludwig, & Pollack, 2015; Kennedy, 2011; Koper, 2013; Pierce, Braga, Hyatt, & Koper, 2004). Consequently, as gun accessibility increases within cities, the likelihood of gun crime also increases. When researching gun accessibility, it is important to note how guns are accessed. Often, guns are accessible in three ways: (1) legal transactions, (2) straw purchases, or (3) theft (Braga, 2017; Cook et al, 2015; Koper, 2013). Most contemporary gun accessibility research measures the impact of legal gun ownership and straw market transactions on gun crime rates within cities (Braga, 2017, Cook et al., 2015; Koper, 2013). Breaking from conventional research, this study will explore the relationship between city-level gun theft and gun crime to determine if cities experiencing higher rates of gun theft also experience higher rates of gun crime. Environmental criminology suggests that opportunities to acquire guns vary depending on physical and social features of places (Bratingham & Bratingham, 1984; Cohen & Felson, 1979; Meier & Miethe, 1993). Therefore, using environmental criminology as a framework, it is likely that if a stolen gun is used in a crime, it will be used close to where it was stolen. As follows, if gun theft increases in a city – increasing illicit gun availability – so too will gun crime.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Criminal Justice

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• Senst, Thomas

Contributors dc:contributor

• <p>Dr. Khadija Monk, Thesis Advisor</p> <p>Dr. Robert Grantham, Thesis Member</p> <p>Dr. Feodor Gostjev, Thesis Member</p>

• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Legal Studies
• Other Legal Studies
• Gun Crime
• Gun Availability
• Illicit Gun Markets
• Gun Theft
• Gang Crime
• Environmental Criminology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://vc.bridgew.edu/theses/74

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vc.bridgew.edu:theses-1074