Posted by Phil Lee (216.250.238.47) on November 18, 2000 at 20:12:
There are two principal theories that are debated among criminologists, the first is whether gun control laws (such as registration) reduce or increase crime, the second is whether there is a net benefit from the possession of firearms, i.e. whether the use of firearms for lawful uses such as self-defense outweigh the social costs of their misuse in crime.
Some have asserted it is not true that firearm-related crimes have increased since registration was introduced in various countries. It most certainly is true, and it can be readily verified by simply looking at the statistics reported by various Governments. Most striking are the figures from England & Wales after the introduction of shotgun registration in 1989:
In 1988, there were 692 armed robberies in which a shotgun or sawn-off shotgun was reported to have been used. Five years later, in 1992, the total was 1,004. So significant and noticeable was the problem that the Metropolitan Police were forced to substantially beef up the Flying Squad (a special unit with a focus on serious offenses), and Parliament also passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1994, which substantially increased the penalties and range of offenses for firearms misuse. Figures from 1994 onward showed a drop in armed robbery, however there has recently been a substantial increase in the number of attempted murders and assaults with firearms.
On the second, ‘net benefit’ argument, there does however appear to be a consensus forming due to work done by criminologists Gary Kleck of Florida State University and Professor John R. Lott in separate studies. Both researchers have found that the use of firearms in self-defense is very substantial and clearly outweighs the misuse of firearms in crime, and in fact may have caused a drop in armed crime in areas where people have been recently allowed to carry concealed handguns. Marvin Wolfgang, who conducted some of the first research on gun use in crime in the late 1950s, and who is a self-confessed advocate for more gun control laws said of Kleck’s work: “I don’t like their conclusion that having a gun can be useful, but I cannot find fault with their methodology.” (Ref. Wolfgang, M. , 1995, A tribute to a view I have opposed, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 86: 188-192. )