New Approaches to Identifying Secondary Market Sources of Illegal Firearms

This study will enhance our understanding of primary and secondary market sources illegal firearms and will develop methods to better identify and control various types of illegal channels through which criminals acquire guns. Currently, police can only trace the guns they confiscate to their first point of retail sale using standard procedures of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The proposed research will take advantage of the existence of secondary (re-sale) gun market data in Massachusetts and California to analyze and compare the characteristics of primary retail versus secondary re-sale of illegal firearms markets for these States from 2000-2006. The findings will enable law enforcement to develop more accurate indicators of illegal market activity and this design improved intervention strategies to interrupt the supply of guns to criminals.
ca/ncf