Improving Research and Data on Firearms

Project Summary for 2000-IJ-CX-0034 (S-1) The National Academy of Sciences National Research Council (NRC) proposes to draw upon expertise from relevant disciplines in the scientific and practitioner communities to provide assistance to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in reviewing and synthesizing existing data and research on guns and violence and on self- and other-directed violent behavior. The project will support the activities of a panel on improving research information and data on firearms, convened under the aegis of the NRC Committee on Law and Justice. This panel will synthesize published knowledge on firearms issues, augmented by expert opinion through workshops and commissioned papers, integrating research findings with emerging theories on the factors contributing to gun violence (including homicide and other crimes, suicides, and accidents). Through these mechanisms, the proposed project will produce a final report which will advance theory, support decision making, and contribute to the development of effective strategies for firearms violence prevention, intervention and control.