Graduation Year

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Criminology

Major Professor

Bryann Fox, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Lyndsay N. Boggess, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Richard K. Moule Jr., Ph.D.

Committee Member

Thomas Loughran IV., Ph.D.

Committee Member

Andrew Fox, Ph.D.

Keywords

Firearms, Social Network Analysis, Hot Spot, Firearm Dealer, Crime Gun

Abstract

Gun violence is a ubiquitous issue across the United States, and recently, gun violence surpassed the previously recorded highest rates. Each year, tens of thousands of individuals lose their lives to gun-related violence. Gun violence is the leading cause of death among youth and disparately impacts young Black men. Some suggest gun violence is a social contagion that transmits from one individual to another and circulates through certain communities, suggesting gun violence can be “cured” with the appropriate treatment. Despite the proliferation of gun violence, current research on gun violence is underdeveloped. It is imperative to assess gun violence from multiple angles to better understand how it should be treated. This is the main focus of this dissertation.

Current research on gun violence often examines it from a person-, social network-, or place-level, all of which are important pieces of the gun violence puzzle. Many of these studies suggest the majority of gun crime can be distilled down to a small percentage of people and their social networks and places. However, this is largely tested in older cities that are more densely populated, which has implications for the spatial and social patterns of gun violence. Additionally, less focus has been placed on the “agent” of the gun violence virus: crime guns. Preliminary research indicates the concentration of gun crime may also be attributed to a small percentage of identified crime guns, though this is in its infancy. As such, if gun crime can be distilled down to a small number of people in social networks that engage in gun crime within a small percentage of the city's geographic area and use a small percentage of crime guns, this can be beneficial information for practitioners and policymakers to stop the circulation of gun violence.

This study explores the potential convergence between people, social networks, places, and guns in a large city in the southwestern United States. This study employs social network analysis, hot spot analysis, correlation tests, nonparametric tests, and regression tests to assess gun violence. Results suggest gun violence is not as spatially or socially concentrated in this city during this timeframe, indicating gun violence may not be a social contagion. Results also indicate a type of “risky” business, a gun dealer, is not associated with gun crime. The current dissertation finds gun crime is concentrated among a small percentage of repeat crime guns.

Gun crime interventions, including hot spot policing and focused deterrence strategies, may not be the most appropriate for addressing gun crime, at least in this city. Police departments should prioritize ballistic evidence and the timely use of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to gain more investigative insight. Lastly, policymakers should advocate for more gun regulation, to better understand how legally purchased guns end up being passed, traded, or sold, and eventually used in one, if not multiple crimes. Altogether, there is much work to be done to find the appropriate cure for gun violence.

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