Premium
Patterns and prevalence of lethal mass violence
Author(s) -
Duwe Grant
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
criminology and public policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.6
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1745-9133
pISSN - 1538-6473
DOI - 10.1111/1745-9133.12478
Subject(s) - criminology , gun control , incidence (geometry) , demography , population , suicide prevention , poison control , injury prevention , mass media , mass incarceration , political science , medicine , psychology , medical emergency , criminal justice , law , sociology , physics , optics
Research Summary Mass shootings have been identified as a novel American crime problem. The term is merely a new name, however, for an older crime problem—mass murder. The social construction of the mass shooting and mass murder problems have both been driven by “mass public shootings”—incidents that occur in the absence of other criminal activity (e.g., robberies, drug deals, and gang “turf wars”) in which a gun was used to kill four or more victims at a public location within a 24‐hour period. Using data on 845 mass shootings, including 158 mass public shootings, which occurred in the United States between 1976 and 2018, in this study, I analyze trends in their prevalence and severity (i.e., number of victims killed and wounded). After controlling for growth in the U.S. population, the results show the late 1980s and early 1990s had the highest incidence of mass shootings. Both the incidence and severity of mass public shootings, on the other hand, have increased over the last decade. I also describe the patterns of mass public shootings by reporting incident and offender characteristics. Policy Implications Despite the recent growth in mass public shootings, the infrequency with which they occur makes it very challenging to develop broad measures that will reduce their incidence or severity. It may therefore be more effective to focus on strategies that that have shown promise in decreasing violence in general.