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1 Lawrence W. Sherman, et al., The Kansas City Gun Experiment 1 (1995)

handle is hein.agopinions/kscityex0001 and id is 1 raw text is: UIS. Department of Justice Offi(c of Jus1'ti(c Programsl ' Jeremy Travis, Director January 1995 Issues and Findings Discussed in this Brief: An evalu- ation of a police patrol project to reduce gun violence, driveby shootings, and homicides in a pa- trol beat where the homicide rate was20 times higher than the na- tional average. Key issues: Gun crime is rising rapidly nationwide, while other types of crime are falling. The need for strategiesto control gun crime is critical. If police could get more guns off the street, would there be fewer gun crimes? This was the question posed by the Kansas City program. Key findings: The results of the evaluation indicate that directed police patrols in gun crime hot spots can reduce gun crimes by increasing the seizures of illegally carried guns. Specific findings include: * Gun seizures by police in the target area increased by more than 65 percent, while gun crimes de- clined in the target area by 49 per- cent (see exhibit 1). * Neither gun crimes nor guns seized changed significantly in a si lar beat several miles away, where the directed patrol was not used. * There was no measurable dis- placement of gun crimes to patrol beats surrounding the target area. The Kansas City Gun Experiment by Lawrence W. Sherman, hmes W. S7aw, and Dennis P. Fogan Handgun crime is increasing rapidly throughout the Nation,' especially in inner-city areas where youth homicide rates have skyrocketed.2 While some scholars argue that more gun carrying by law-abiding citizens may be the best de- terrent to gun violence,3 others find little evidence to support that view4 but much more evidence that increases in gun availability produce increases in gun ho- micides.5 Still others argue that it is not the total number of guns in circulation that increases gun violence, but the car- rying of guns in high-risk places at high- risk times.' This argument suggests the hy- pothesis that greater enforcement of exist- ing laws against carrying concealed weapons could reduce gun crime. But this hypothesis had never been tested until the Kansas City gun experiment The experiment developed out of the first Federal grant awarded under the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Weed and Seed program in 1991. The Kansas City (Mis- souri) Police Department (KCPD) was given wide latitude in planning its Weed and Seed strategy. Shortly after the BJA Exhibit 1: Firearm Offenses/Guns Seized Per 1,000 Persons Before Patrols During Patrols Before Patrols During Patrols continued p. 2 37.0 -.- ..... ....-........ Target Beat Comparison Beat Gun Crimes 2 . 23.6 \ 18.9 22.6 Gun Crimes 16.8 GunsSeized 10.4 9.9 GunsSeized 8.8

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