Patterns of adolescent gun carrying and gun-related crime arrests in Indianapolis, Indiana over an 11-year time period

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

卷:139

Article

Magee, Lauren A.¹  Dir, Allyson L.^2,3  Clifton, Richelle L.⁴  Wiehe, Sarah E.¹  Aalsma, Matthew C.³ 

[1] Indiana Univ Sch Med, Dept Pediat, Childrens Hlth Serv Res, 410 W 10th St, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA

[2] Indiana Univ Sch Med, Dept Psychiat, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA

[3] Indiana Univ Sch Med, Dept Pediat, Adolescent Behav Hlth Res Program, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA

[4] Indiana Univ Purdue Univ, Dept Psychol, Indianapolis, IN 46205 USA

关键词: Adolescents;    Violence;    Guns;    Firearm violence;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106199

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Adolescent males are disproportionately affected by homicide as both victims and offenders. Indianapolis has seen increases in youth homicides over the past few years; gun carrying increases an individual's risk for involvement in firearm violence. It is unclear how often youth are arrested for gun carrying and gun-related crimes. Examining these patterns may identify an opportunity for intervention. This study is a descriptive epidemiology analysis that examines patterns of gun carrying and gun-related crime arrests among justice involved youth in Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana. We accessed juvenile court records from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2016 on all individuals arrested for a gun carrying offense (i.e., illegal possession of a firearm or gun; n = 711) and all individuals arrested for a gun-related crime (i.e., homicide, robbery, aggravated assault; n = 150). Data were analyzed in fall 2019. Proportions of juvenile arrests for both gun carrying (47.0 per 1000 arrests) and gun-related crime (25.4 per 1000 arrests) have substantially increased compared to ten-years ago (4.5 per 1000 arrests and 2.0 per 1000 arrests, respectively). Of those arrested, 27.7 per 100,000 population were arrested for a repeated gun-related offense; of which 21.5 per 100,000 were first arrested for gun carrying and 6.2 per 100,000 were arrested for a gun-related crime. The majority of gun-related repeat offenders were first arrested for gun carrying; therefore, these gun-carrying arrests may be an opportunity to intervene on an individual level by providing treatment, other needed resources, and discussing safe firearm storage with families and communities.

【 授权许可】

Free