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Firearms

Firearms
commentary
Connect, Buy-Now, Fire: How the Dark Web Allows Criminals to Buy Weapons—Anonymously
Giacomo Persi Paoli @GPersiPaoli
Jul 25, 2017
Prospect Magazine
Despite its small size compared to the offline market, the ability of the dark web to anonymously arm individuals of all backgrounds needs to be taken seriously. Its potential impact on international security is significant.
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Suicide
essay
Is Suicide Preventable? Insights from Research
May 8, 2017
Conventional wisdom about suicide prevention suggests that one just needs to know what warning signs to look for. But that's not the case.
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Domestic Terrorism
commentary
When Is a Terrorist Really a Terrorist?
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Jan 27, 2017
The Hill
Countering mass violence demands a distinction between attackers who are truly inspired by jihadism and those with lesser links. The latter includes people whose mental states and violent tendencies preexist their exposure to the ideology.
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Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
Pitfalls of Predictive Policing
Jessica Saunders
Oct 11, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
The Chicago Police Department's predictive policing program didn't work. To achieve even a 5 percent drop in the city's homicide rate, enormous leaps in both prediction and intervention effectiveness are necessary.
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Arms Proliferation and Control
commentary
Tracing Firearms and Ammunition
Giacomo Persi Paoli @GPersiPaoli
Sep 9, 2016
Defence Management Review
The marking of firearms and ammunition supports effective tracing by enabling identification and efficient record keeping. But currently there are no mandatory, globally accepted standards that regulate firearms marking.
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Domestic Violence
commentary
Domestic Warning Signs of Mass Shootings
Radha Iyengar @RadhaKIyengar
Aug 6, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
After shootings, there is inevitably public debate over gun safety, constitutional rights, police tactics, terrorism, race, and politics. But these discussions rarely focus on a common factor among the perpetrators: a history of violence against women.
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Firearms
commentary
A Brief History of the Assault Rifle
Michael Shurkin @MichaelShurkin
Jun 30, 2016
The Atlantic
The assault rifle is a class of weapon that emerged in the middle of the last century to meet the needs of combat soldiers on the modern battlefield, where the level of violence had reached such heights that an entirely new way of fighting had emerged.
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Counterterrorism
blog
Orlando Nightclub Shooting: RAND Experts React
Jun 15, 2016
RAND experts provide perspective on the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, what it likely means within the context of the campaign against ISIS, and more.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Gun Violence: Where Is the Research That Might Save Lives?
Jeffrey Wasserman
Nov 5, 2015
Newsweek
Gun violence is an important public health problem that accounts for more than 33,000 deaths each year in the United States but in 1996, Congress stripped the CDC of funding for any research that could be associated with gun control advocacy. The lack of CDC funding has deterred researchers.
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Military Recruitment
commentary
Go Slow on Arming Recruiters
Ben Connable
Jul 31, 2015
The Hill
Several important voices have argued for arming military recruiters in the wake of the recent shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Giving them a chance to fight back against an active shooter may be a sound proposition, but practicalities of military recruiting suggest a patient and thoughtful policy review.
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Transportation Security
commentary
Want to Create Problems? Arm the TSA
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Nov 7, 2013
Los Angeles Times
With its current 47,000 screeners, an armed TSA would become the federal government's largest armed entity outside of the military. In the eyes of many, arming TSA screeners would change the image of the organization from a service aimed at guaranteeing safe air travel to an unwanted imposition of federal authority.
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Terrorism Threat Assessment
commentary
Airport Violence—Not a New Phenomenon
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
Nov 2, 2013
The RAND Blog
Shootings at airports are nothing new, writes Brian Michael Jenkins. In fact, they have regularly occurred worldwide in recent years. The motives have included terrorism, crime, and mental illness.
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Military Budgets and Defense Spending
blog
At 65, RAND Continues to Make a Difference
May 14, 2013
To celebrate our first 60 years, we created '60 Ways RAND Has Made a Difference,' an online book to illustrate our most notable contributions. On our 65th birthday, we provide five of the most recent ways in which we at RAND are proud to have made a difference.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Guns in Homes: A Health Hazard
Arthur L. Kellermann
Mar 25, 2013
New York Daily News
An ample body of evidence indicates that the benefits of keeping a gun for protection are substantially outweighed by the associated risks, writes Art Kellermann.
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United States
blog
The State of the Union 2013
Feb 13, 2013
The 2013 SOTU address will be remembered for its impassioned call for greater gun control just two months after Sandy Hook. But President Obama's second-term agenda can be characterized by its sheer breadth, reflecting the broad range of policy challenges facing the United States today.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Firearms and Gun Control: Many Questions, Some Answers
Sarah Michal Greathouse, Brian A. Jackson, K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley, Andrew R. Morral, Debra Knopman, Arthur L. Kellermann
Jan 17, 2013
The RAND Blog
President Obama's task force on gun violence has raised the stakes in the policy debate on gun control and policy in the wake of the recent shootings in Colorado and Connecticut. Some of RAND's top researchers share what is, and what isn't, known about firearms and gun control.
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Violence
commentary
Can Improved Mental Health Care Prevent Gun Crimes? The Truth Is, We Don't Know
Terry Schell
Jan 17, 2013
The RAND Blog
If policymakers and the public expect the mental health community to play a significant role in preventing future incidents like Newtown, the mental health research agenda must become a higher national priority in future federal funding decisions, writes Terry Schell.
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Crime and Violence Prevention
commentary
Accounting for Risk of Violent Death
Arthur L. Kellermann
Jan 7, 2013
The Washington Post
As a Southerner who learned to shoot at an early age, I've never had a problem with guns. But emergency-room doctors like me also know how much damage they can cause if misused or allowed to fall into the wrong hands, writes Arthur Kellermann.
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Emergency Preparedness
commentary
Responding to Newtown
Arthur L. Kellermann
Dec 26, 2012
Health Affairs Blog
Art Kellermann reviews what is known from broad outlines of the Newtown attack and past research on gun violence to offer some preliminary thoughts to the Obama Administration's task force and the public.
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Mental Health Treatment
commentary
Shifting the Burden of Mental Health Care: Helping Families
Ramya Chari
Dec 21, 2012
The RAND Blog
In our national conversation on mental health, we should remember the role of families when thinking about treatment and ensure that our policies open up opportunities to support parents, siblings and relatives, and enhance their capacity for care, writes Ramya Chari.
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Gun Violence
commentary
Silencing the Science on Gun Research
Arthur L. Kellermann, Frederick P. Rivara
Dec 21, 2012
The Journal of the American Medical Association
The United States has long relied on public health science to improve the safety, health, and lives of its citizens. Perhaps the same straightforward, problem-solving approach that worked well in other circumstances can help the nation meet the challenge of firearm violence, writes Arthur Kellermann.
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Mental Health Treatment
commentary
In Connecticut, Recovery and Healing Will Take Time
Lisa H. Jaycox
Dec 20, 2012
The RAND Blog
With an event like this, With an event like this, 'recovery' doesn't mean a return to normal, because lives have been permanently altered. Recovery can only mean finding a new normal, a new path forward. And schools, those places of safety and healthy development, can help with that process, by providing a structure and community to support healing, writes Lisa Jaycox.
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Firearms

Connect, Buy-Now, Fire: How the Dark Web Allows Criminals to Buy Weapons—Anonymously

Is Suicide Preventable? Insights from Research

When Is a Terrorist Really a Terrorist?

Pitfalls of Predictive Policing

Tracing Firearms and Ammunition

Domestic Warning Signs of Mass Shootings

A Brief History of the Assault Rifle

Orlando Nightclub Shooting: RAND Experts React

Gun Violence: Where Is the Research That Might Save Lives?

Go Slow on Arming Recruiters

Want to Create Problems? Arm the TSA

Airport Violence—Not a New Phenomenon

At 65, RAND Continues to Make a Difference

Guns in Homes: A Health Hazard

The State of the Union 2013

Firearms and Gun Control: Many Questions, Some Answers

Can Improved Mental Health Care Prevent Gun Crimes? The Truth Is, We Don't Know

Accounting for Risk of Violent Death

Responding to Newtown

Shifting the Burden of Mental Health Care: Helping Families

Silencing the Science on Gun Research

In Connecticut, Recovery and Healing Will Take Time

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