Understanding the Process, Context, and Characteristics of Extreme Risk Protection Orders: A Statewide Study

Research summary. Extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) allow police, family, and household members to file an order to temporarily remove firearms or prevent purchasing among individuals at high risk for harming themselves or others. Using inductive qualitative content analysis, we examined 241 ERPOs filed December 8, 2016 through May 10, 2019 in Washington State. Focusing on recurring themes, we explored the circumstances and behaviors that led to an ERPO filing. Extreme risk protection orders were filed over concerns for domestic violence, mass shooting threats, direct threats to oneself or others, and other concerning behavior with a firearm. Factors at all levels of the social-ecological model were found to play a role in the dangerous behaviors of respondents that led to an ERPO petition. Policy implications. Extreme risk protection orders can serve an important role in both protecting people and facilitating the provision of care for substance use, mental illness, and assistance to vulnerable individuals.