- Series Information
- The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Criminal Justice
- List of Contributors
- Oxford Handbook of Crime and Criminal Justice
- Crime and Criminal Justice
- Crime Trends
- Evidence-based Crime Policy
- Punishment
- Crime Prevention
- Treatment and Rehabilitation
- General Deterrence
- Reparation and Restoration
- Reassurance, Reinforcement, and Legitimacy
- Drugs and Crime
- Race, Ethnicity, and Crime
- Sex, Gender, and Crime
- Immigrants and Crime
- Guns and Crime
- Work and Crime
- Police Organization
- Police and Crime Control
- Community and Problem-Oriented Policing
- Legitimacy and Lawful Policing
- Juvenile justice
- Prosecution
- Sentencing
- Mandatory Penalties
- Capital Punishment
- Jails and Pretrial Release
- Probation and Community Penalties
- Drug and Other Specialty Courts
- Prisons
- Women’s Prisons
- Parole and Prisoner Re-entry
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This article explores the role that guns play in American society and especially in crime. Section I discusses the possession and use of firearms. Sections II and III examine guns as deterrents to crime including how carrying guns might affect crime levels. Section IV discusses how gun markets are regulated and operated, and Section V examines what we know about effective gun crime prevention and control. The article concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of current knowledge and sketches a research agenda to advance our understanding the role guns play in crime.
Keywords: firearm possession, crime deterrent, gun market regulation, crime prevention
Charles F. Wellford is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland.
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- Series Information
- The Oxford Handbook of Crime and Criminal Justice
- List of Contributors
- Oxford Handbook of Crime and Criminal Justice
- Crime and Criminal Justice
- Crime Trends
- Evidence-based Crime Policy
- Punishment
- Crime Prevention
- Treatment and Rehabilitation
- General Deterrence
- Reparation and Restoration
- Reassurance, Reinforcement, and Legitimacy
- Drugs and Crime
- Race, Ethnicity, and Crime
- Sex, Gender, and Crime
- Immigrants and Crime
- Guns and Crime
- Work and Crime
- Police Organization
- Police and Crime Control
- Community and Problem-Oriented Policing
- Legitimacy and Lawful Policing
- Juvenile justice
- Prosecution
- Sentencing
- Mandatory Penalties
- Capital Punishment
- Jails and Pretrial Release
- Probation and Community Penalties
- Drug and Other Specialty Courts
- Prisons
- Women’s Prisons
- Parole and Prisoner Re-entry
- Index