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Ratcliffe JH, Huffer M. Quasi-experimental study finding no localised gun crime or call reduction after gun buybacks in Philadelphia. Inj Prev 2023; 29:519-524. [PMID: 37802644 DOI: 10.1136/ip-2023-044948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Gun buyback programmes have been popular in the USA since the 1970s. Studies show that they have no effect on citywide gun crime rates, but more microlevel examinations around gun buyback locations have not been conducted. This study tests for local effects of 34 Philadelphia, PA buyback events at 30 locations between 2019 and 2021. METHODS We analysed all gun-related crime events and gun-related calls for service attended by the police from 2019 to 2021. Multilevel models with an autoregressive residual structure were estimated on weekly gun crime and call event intensity (inverse distance weighted) totals across a range of distances (4000-8000 feet). Impacts of a gun buyback event were estimated for 1-4 weeks postevent. RESULTS Statistically significant weekly increases in gun event intensity are associated with seasonality and after the murder of George Floyd. Gun event intensity was not significantly affected by gun buybacks. Across 20 sensitivity tests of different distances and time periods (4000-8000 feet and between 1 and 4 weeks), gun buybacks were not statistically associated with any localised reduction in the intensity of gun crimes and calls. CONCLUSIONS Extant research has failed to uncover any effect of gun buybacks on citywide gun crime rates. The current results now contribute a lack of evidence at the local level to this literature. While gun buybacks remain popular with politicians and the public, this study adds to the ongoing question of whether buyback funds could be better spent more effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry H Ratcliffe
- Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Marc Huffer
- Department of Criminal Justice, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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Iwundu CN, Homan ME, Moore AR, Randall P, Daundasekara SS, Hernandez DC. Firearm Violence in the United States: An Issue of the Highest Moral Order. Public Health Ethics 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/phe/phac017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Firearm violence in the United States produces over 36,000 deaths and 74,000 sustained firearm-related injuries yearly. The paper describes the burden of firearm violence with emphasis on the disproportionate burden on children, racial/ethnic minorities, women and the healthcare system. Second, this paper identifies factors that could mitigate the burden of firearm violence by applying a blend of key ethical theories to support population level interventions and recommendations that may restrict individual rights. Such recommendations can further support targeted research to inform and implement interventions, policies and laws related to firearm access and use, in order to significantly reduce the burden of firearm violence on individuals, health care systems, vulnerable populations and society-at-large. By incorporating a blended public health ethics to address firearm violence, we propose a balance between societal obligations and individual rights and privileges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chisom N Iwundu
- Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services, University of North Texas , Denton, TX , USA
| | - Mary E Homan
- Department of Ethics and Theology, Providence-St Joseph Health , Renton, WA , USA
| | - Ami R Moore
- Department of Rehabilitation and Health Services, University of North Texas , Denton, TX , USA
| | - Pierce Randall
- Albany Medical College, Alden March Bioethics Institute , Albany, NY , USA
| | - Sajeevika S Daundasekara
- Cizik School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , Houston, TX , USA
| | - Daphne C Hernandez
- Cizik School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , Houston, TX , USA
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Bonne SL, Violano P, Duncan TK, Pappas PA, Baltazar GA, Dultz LA, Schroeder ME, Capella J, Hirsh M, Conrad-Schnetz K, Rattan R, Como JJ, Jewell S, Crandall ML. Prevention of Firearm Violence Through Specific Types of Community-based Programming: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Evidence-based Review. Ann Surg 2021; 274:298-305. [PMID: 33914467 DOI: 10.1097/sla.0000000000004837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this review was to provide an evidence-based recommendation for community-based programs to mitigate gun violence, from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Firearm Injury leads to >40,000 annual deaths and >115,000 injuries annually in the United States. Communities have adopted culturally relevant strategies to mitigate gun related injury and death. Two such strategies are gun buyback programs and community-based violence prevention programs. METHODS The Injury Control and Violence Prevention Committee of EAST developed Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) questions and performed a comprehensive literature and gray web literature search. Using GRADE methodology, they reviewed and graded the literature and provided consensus recommendations informed by the literature. RESULTS A total of 19 studies were included for analysis of gun buyback programs. Twenty-six studies were reviewed for analysis for community-based violence prevention programs. Gray literature was added to the discussion of PICO questions from selected websites. A conditional recommendation is made for the implementation of community-based gun buyback programs and a conditional recommendation for community-based violence prevention programs, with special emphasis on cultural appropriateness and community input. CONCLUSIONS Gun violence may be mitigated by community-based efforts, such as gun buybacks or violence prevention programs. These programs come with caveats, notably community cultural relevance and proper support and funding from local leadership.Level of Evidence: Review, Decision, level III.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Bonne
- Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ
- The New Jersey Center for Gun Violence Research at Rutgers, Piscataway, NJ
| | - Pina Violano
- Department of Surgery, Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven CT
| | - Thomas K Duncan
- Department of Surgery, Ventura County Medical Center, Ventura, CA
| | - Peter A Pappas
- Department of Surgery, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Sanford, FL
| | - Gerard A Baltazar
- Department of Surgery, New York University Langone Hospital Long Island, Mineola, NY
| | - Linda A Dultz
- Department of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Mary E Schroeder
- Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
| | | | - Michael Hirsh
- Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Children's Medical Center, Worcester, MA
| | | | - Rishi Rattan
- Dewitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
| | - John J Como
- Department of Surgery, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland OH
| | - Sarah Jewell
- George Smith Library, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ
| | - Marie L Crandall
- Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL
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Miller KR, Benns MV, Bozeman MC, Franklin GA, Harbrecht B, Nash NA, Smith JW, Smock WS, Richardson JD. Operative Management of Thoracic Gunshot Wounds: More Aggressive Treatment Has Been Required over Time. Am Surg 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/000313481908501123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Our department has a database of thoracic gunshot wounds (GSWs), which has cataloged these injury patterns over the past five decades. Prevailing wisdom on the management of these injuries suggested operative treatment beyond tube thoracostomy is not commonly required. It was our clinical impression that the operative treatment required beyond chest tube placement has greatly increased over the past several decades, whereas the operative management of cardiac GSWs seemed to be increasingly infrequent events. To test these observations, we analyzed the treatment of GSWs to the chest and heart in four distinct time periods, categorized as “historical” (1973–1975 and 1988–1990) and “modern” (2005–2007 and 2015–2017). There was a significant increase in emergent thoracotomy, delayed thoracic operations, overall operative interventions, and pulmonary resections from the historical period to the modern era. There was a decline in cardiac injuries treated, whereas the number of injuries remained constant. Mortality was unchanged between the early and later periods. Operative treatment beyond tube thoracostomy was much more prevalent for noncardiac thoracic GSWs in the past two decades than in the prior decades, whereas the number of cardiac wounds treated decreased by half.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith R. Miller
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | - Matthew V. Benns
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | - Matthew C. Bozeman
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | - Glen A. Franklin
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | - Briang Harbrecht
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | - Nicholas A. Nash
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | - Jason W. Smith
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
| | | | - J. David Richardson
- Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky and
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Suicide, guns, and buyback programs: An epidemiologic analysis of firearm-related deaths in Connecticut. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2017; 83:1195-1199. [DOI: 10.1097/ta.0000000000001575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Kasper RE, Green J, Damle RN, Aidlen J, Nazarey P, Manno M, Borer E, Hirsh MP. And the survey said.... evaluating rationale for participation in gun buybacks as a tool to encourage higher yields. J Pediatr Surg 2017; 52:354-359. [PMID: 27616616 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2016.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Revised: 07/24/2016] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gun buyback programs represent one arm of a multipronged approach to raise awareness and education about gun safety. METHODS The city of Worcester, MA has conducted an annual gun buyback at the Police Department Headquarters since 2002. We analyzed survey responses from a voluntary, 18-question, face-to-face structured interview from December 2009 to June 2015 using descriptive statistics to determine participant demographics and motivations for participation. RESULTS A total of 943 guns were collected, and 273 individuals completed surveys. The majority of participants were white males older than 55years (42.4%). Participants represented 61 zip codes across Worcester County, with 68% having prior gun safety training and 61% with weapons remaining in the home (27% of which children could potentially access). The top reasons for turning in guns were "no longer needed" (48%) and "fear of children accessing the gun" (14%). About 1 in 3 respondents knew someone injured/killed by gun violence. Almost all (96%) respondents claimed the program raised community awareness of firearm risk. CONCLUSION The Worcester Goods for Guns Buyback has collected more than 900 guns between 2009 and 2015. The buyback removes unwanted guns from homes and raises community awareness about firearm safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E Kasper
- University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604.
| | - Jonathan Green
- Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
| | - Rachelle N Damle
- Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
| | - Jeremy Aidlen
- Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
| | - Pradeep Nazarey
- Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
| | - Mariann Manno
- Division of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
| | - Esther Borer
- Department of Injury Prevention, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
| | - Michael P Hirsh
- Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 North Lake Ave, Worcester, MA 01604
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The United States has a high rate of death due to firearms, and gun buyback programs may mitigate these high death rates. Understanding the demographics, motivation, and geographic region of participants may improve program efficacy. METHODS Three Injury Free Coalition for Kids gun buyback programs, in collaboration with the local police, were studied: Phoenix, Arizona; Worcester, Massachusetts; and New Haven, Connecticut. Participants were defined as those who relinquished a firearm. A self-administered, anonymous, paper survey elicited information from participants regarding demographic data, formal training on the use of the firearm, how the firearm was acquired, potential child access, knowledge of others injured by a firearm, whether the firearm was stored unlocked, factors motivating the surrender of the firearm, and other factors. Survey results were entered into a composite database and analyzed for differences in location, race, sex, and other factors. RESULTS Participants (n = 301) were predominantly male (73.5%), white (80.9%), and older than 55 years (59.0%). They lived an average of 19.0 miles from the event by zip codes and had an average median household income of $65,731. More than half (54.5%) did not purchase the firearm, acquiring it through inheritance, gift, or random find. Most (74.8%) had previous firearms training and were relinquishing for safety reasons (68.3%). Those relinquishing firearms for safety reasons were less likely to have purchased the firearm (odds ratio [OR], 2.46, p <0.05), less likely to have any formal training (OR, 5.92; p < 0.01), and less likely to keep the firearm locked (OR, 3.50; p < 0.01). Women were less likely to have purchased the firearm (OR, 0.50; p < 0.05). Fifty-three percent of those turning in firearms reported having at least one more firearm at home; designated themselves to be white, compared with all other groups combined (OR, 2.55; p < 0.05); more likely to report locking the firearm (OR, 0.11; p < 0.001); more interested in receiving a gun lock (OR, 0.15; p < 0.001); and more likely to know others who also own firearms (OR, 0.17; p < 0.001). In at least one of the cities participating in this study, as many as 30 percent of the weapons used in gun-wielding criminal acts were burglarized from the home of legal gun owners that had failed to secure them properly. CONCLUSION The gun buyback program is solely one prong of a multipronged approach in reducing firearm-based interpersonal violence. Additional research is necessary to determine effective methods to target individuals who would have the greatest impact on gun violence if they relinquished their weapons. Through the forging of relationships and enhancement of firearm knowledge among medical, law enforcement, judicial, and school communities, the prevention of intentional and unintentional firearm-related injuries will be able to be managed more effectively.
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Braga AA, Wintemute GJ. Improving the potential effectiveness of gun buyback programs. Am J Prev Med 2013; 45:668-71. [PMID: 24139782 DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2013] [Revised: 07/29/2013] [Accepted: 08/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anthony A Braga
- School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey; Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Abstract
This article examines the timorous courtship between public health law and evidence-based policy. Legislation, in the form of direct prescriptions or proscriptions on behaviour, is perhaps the most powerful tool available to the public health policymaker. Increasingly, the same policymakers have striven to ensure that interventions are based soundly on a secure evidence base. The modern mantra is that the policies to follow are the ones that have been demonstrated to work. Legislative interventions, involving trade-offs between public benefit and private interests, present formidable challenges for the evaluator. Systematic reviews of their overall efficacy, the main tool of evidence-based policy, are in their infancy. The article presents a design for such reviews using the example of a forthcoming synthesis on the effectiveness of banning smoking in cars carrying children.
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Abstract
There has been a transition in US firearm injuries from an epidemic phase (mid-1980s to early 1990s) to an endemic one (since the mid-1990s). Endemic US firearm injuries merit public health attention because they exact an ongoing toll, may give rise to new epidemic outbreaks, and can foster firearm injuries in other parts of the world. The endemic period is a good time for the development of ongoing prevention approaches, including assessment and monitoring of local risk factors over time and application of proven measures to reduce these risk factors, development of means to address changing circumstances, and ongoing professional and public education designed to weave firearm injury prevention into the fabric of public health work and everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Kaufer Christoffel
- Children's Memorial Research Center and the Department of Pediatrics, Fein-berg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill, USA.
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