NCJ Number
227080
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 73-89
Date Published
March 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the underlying individual-level motivations for obtaining a concealed weapon permit.
Abstract
Findings reveal little evidence to support the supposition that concealed weapon permits are utilized by those most likely to be at risk for violent crime victimization. At the neighborhood level it would appear that the number of permits and violent crime are inversely correlated. This result would imply that citizens living in higher crime areas and, therefore, who should be at a greater risk of victimization, will be less likely to arm themselves. A slightly different picture emerges with the addition of individual-level data comparing permit holders and other citizens in New Orleans. The results of the multi-level models indicate that individual determinants, as opposed to neighborhood factors, such as the violent crime rate, provide most of the explanatory power. Permit holders are more likely to be older, wealthier, White and male. These same individuals are no more likely to have been previously victimized, with the exception of suffering a property theft outside their homes. Context, including both neighborhood location and the rate of violent crime surrounding one’s place of residence, appears to provide little leverage in explaining the differences between permit holders and other citizens in New Orleans. Instead, the distribution of permits appears to be based in large part on an individual calculus, much of which may be centered on personal experience, like being the victim of property theft, rather than larger contextual factors like neighborhood violent crime rates. Data were collected from permit holders and citizens in New Orleans using a survey format. Tables, notes, references, and appendix