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Abstract
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In 1981 New Jersey adopted a law requiring a mandatory minimum prison sentence for use or possession of a firearm in a variety of crimes. New Jersey firearms homicides as a per cent of all New Jersey homicides increased from 1974 to 1980 and decreased from 1981 through 1986. No similar change was observed for homicides in the balance of the U.S. or for suicides in New Jersey or the balance of the U.S. The findings suggest an effect of the mandatory minimum sentencing law on firearms homicides.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The intent of this article by Fife and Abrams was to assess the effects of New Jersey's mandatory sentencing law for the possession or use of firearms in a variety of crimes.
METHODOLOGY:
The authors employed a quasi-experimental design to assess the New Jersey Graves Amendment which became effective in February of 1981 and mandated a minimum sentence of imprisonment without parole for any person who used or was in possession of a firearm when they committed murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, robbery or burglary. The percentage of homicides and suicides were assessed from 1974 to 1986 with data from the New Jersey department of Health's Center for Health Statistics to determine the effectiveness of the amendment.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
From 1974 through 1986, 6,177 New Jersey residents died by homicide and 7,828 died by suicide. 45.8% of the homicides and 32.5% of the suicides were committed with firearms, and 92.7% of the firearm deaths were accounted for through either homicide or suicide. When the Graves Amendment became effective the slope of firearm homicides went from 0.64 +/- 1.36% per year to -2.56 +/- 1.68% per year, with a difference between slopes of -3.20 +/- 1.85% per year. Within the entire United States, however, the percentage of homicides involving firearms decreased relatively smoothly from 1974 to 1986, with a difference between slopes of 0.07% +/- 0.71% per year. The slope of firearm suicides in New Jersey went from 0.63% +/- 0.83% per year prior to the legislation, to -0.35 +/- 0.65% per year after the legislation, with a difference between slopes of -0.98 +/- 0.98% per year. For the entire United States the slope of firearm suicides went from 0.36 +/- 0.29% per year to 0.07 +/- 0.13% per year, with a difference between slopes of -0.29 +/- 0.32% per year. Therefore, the incidence of firearm homicides and suicides was substantially lower in New Jersey than in the rest of the United States after the Graves Amendment became effective.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
Because firearms in New Jersey account for a smaller proportion of intentional deaths than in the larger United States, the legal efforts to reduce firearm deaths in New Jersey may not be easily generalized. Similar laws in other states should be studied, the authors argued, in order to better understand the effectiveness of firearm legislation.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - New Jersey
KW - 1970s
KW - 1980s
KW - Mandatory Sentencing
KW - Offender Sentencing
KW - Firearms Ownership
KW - Firearms Use Effects
KW - Firearms Carrying Effects
KW - Firearms Control
KW - Firearms Violence
KW - Correctional Decision Making
KW - Firearms Homicide
KW - Homicide Rates
KW - Homicide Offender
KW - Homicide Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Legislation Effects
KW - Criminal Justice System
KW - Juvenile Firearms Carrying
KW - Juvenile Firearms Use
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Adult Firearms Use
KW - Adult Firearms Carrying
KW - Adult Offender
KW - Adult Violence |