In the Line of Fire: Youth, Guns, and Violence in Urban America

• NCJ Number: 157560
• Author(s): J F Sheley; J D Wright
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 192 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: Aldine de Gruyter Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Youth Violence and Guns. Social Institutions and Social Change an Aldine de Gruyter Series of Texts and Monographs

Annotation

This book uses data drawn from juvenile male inmates and male students in inner-city schools to examine issues related to gun- related violence among urban youth.

Abstract

The specific questions addressed in this study include respondents' exposure to guns, violence, and crime; respondents' criminal activities and drug activity profiles; respondents' gang membership profiles; gun possession and carrying patterns, including types of guns owned, among urban youth; important features of respondents' handguns; methods and cost of acquiring weapons; motivations for carrying guns and situations in which guns are used; gun sales by respondents; drug use and trafficking and their relationship to crime and gun activity; and correlations between gang membership, guns, and criminal activity. The book also explores the use of firearms by female juvenile inner-city youth, factors associated with weapon-related victimization, and the extent to which suburban youth engage in gun-related activity. The authors urge a policy aimed at reducing the motivation for gun possession by youth, to replace the current focus on taking away the guns they currently own. Chapter notes and tables, 190 references