Study of the Drug Use Forecasting Gun Addendum for Chicago Adult Male Arrestees

• NCJ Number: 172255
• Author(s): J A Swartz; A Lurigio
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 60 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-DB-MU-0017
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: From the series on "Research and program evaluation in Illinois: Studies on drug abuse and violent crime."

Annotation

This research analyzed the first three quarters of Chicago's Drug Use Forecasting system's (DUF's) firearms data, comprising the last two quarters of 1996 and the first quarter of 1997.

Abstract

Data were collected from the 630 adult male arrestees interviewed in Chicago during the three collection quarters. Data were collected as part of the national DUF study. Using the gun addendum to the DUF interview schedule, the study examined the percentages of Chicago adult male arrestees reporting the ownership and use of firearms; the types of firearms possessed; whether firearms were used during the commission of current offenses; and the relationships between gun ownership and drug use, arrest charge, and gang membership. The study also analyzed DUF gun addendum results geographically to determine in which of Chicago's 77 community areas the perceived availability of guns was highest. The study also compared Chicago's gun addendum data with the data obtained from the other 23 DUF sites participating in the national DUF gun addendum study. A similar study by Decker, et al. (1997), using selected DUF cities, confirmed the relationships between gun use and drug sales; however, the Chicago data suggest that guns are not as prevalent in that city, at least according to arrestees' self-reports of gun ownership. Only 18 percent of the sample said they had ever owned a gun. Chicago's strict restrictions on gun ownership may have caused underreporting of gun ownership and use by many of the respondents. Based on respondents' perceptions of the ease with which guns can be obtained in their neighborhoods, apparently guns are more prevalent and are likely used more in areas of the city where there are many related social problems. From a policy perspective, it makes sense to view issues such as poverty, economic decline, guns, gangs, and illegal drugs as being inter- related rather than viewing them as separate phenomena. Study limitations are discussed. 7 tables, 8 figures, 38 references, and appended DUF gun addendum questionnaire