Underground Gun Markets in Chicago

The purpose of this project is to examine the distribution of guns among people at highest risk of being involved with illegal use of firearms in Chicago, Illinois. Specific research activities will include: 1) An update and analysis of existing Chicago Police Department administrative datasets including Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms crime-gun trace data, confiscated crime guns matched with the federal registry of stolen guns, and investigation data from the Chicago Anti-Gun Enforcement Team; 2) Ethnographic interviews with gun brokers and gang leaders known to distribute firearms in three Chicago neighborhoods; and, 3) A survey of Illinois Department of Corrections male inmates between the ages 17-20 who were gang-involved at the most recent arrest and incarcerated for gun offenses (N=100); and a representative sample of same gender/age inmates neither gang-involved nor serving a gun-related sentence (N=100). ca/ncf