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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime

Published on: May 3, 2016

Gun Theft and Crime.

Philip J Cook¹

¹Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA. pcook@duke.edu.

Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine

|April 21, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Gun theft is not a primary source of firearms used in crime. Analysis indicates stolen guns play a minor role in criminal activity, suggesting theft reduction programs may not significantly impact gun violence.

Keywords:

Evidence-based policy Firearms Theft Violence

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Area of Science:

Criminology
Gun Violence Research
Law Enforcement Studies

Background:

Law enforcement and public assertions often identify gun theft as a primary source of crime guns.
The actual contribution of stolen firearms to gun violence remains uncertain, with limited evidence on the impact of gun theft reduction programs.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the role of gun theft in supplying firearms for criminal activities.
To evaluate whether reducing gun theft would effectively decrease gun violence.

Main Methods:

Analysis of publicly available national data on gun theft.
Examination of a unique dataset of crime guns recovered by the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
Review of survey data from convicted criminals regarding firearm acquisition.

Main Results:

Gun thefts constitute approximately 1% of all gun transactions nationwide.
Less than 3% of crime guns recovered in Chicago were reported stolen to the CPD.
Surveys indicate that convicted criminals rarely steal the firearm used in their most recent offense.

Conclusions:

Stolen guns appear to play a minor role in overall crime.
Current evidence suggests that programs focused solely on reducing gun theft may have a limited impact on gun violence.
Further research is needed to definitively establish the relationship between gun theft and gun violence.