Permitless Carry Legislation and Police Officer Firearm Injury in the United States

Objective:
In this grant, a suicide research center located at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center leads a team of researchers on Police in the United States are fatally shot at a rate 1.6 times higher than non-police, and non-fatally shot at a rate 6.25 times higher. More permissive concealed-carry-weapons (CCW) laws and the expansion of permitless or “constitutional” firearm legislation are linked to increased firearm violence in the general population. Given their elevated risk of firearm injury and their unique role as street-level enforcers of firearm laws, these legislative changes have raised concern among law enforcement officials about the safety of their officers. Unfortunately, the rapid increase in the number of states with permitless carry and a lack of quality data on fatal and non-fatal police firearm injury prevent confident assessment of the degree to which permitless carry legislation affects contemporary firearm victimization of U.S. police officers.

Funded By:
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC)

Project Status:
In progress

Principal Investigator (PI):
Michael Sierra-Arévalo, PhD 

Amount Awarded:
$53,903.00