« New training for dealing with "active shooters" | Main | Virginia cuts back on reciprocity »
Why FBI figures on "justifiable homicides" are misleadingly low
Posted by David Hardy · 20 December 2015 05:32 PM
Clayton Cramer has posted an an in-depth examination of the question. For one thing, the FBI uses a strange definition of justifiable homicide, which excludes "I shot because he was attacking me with deadly force" -- which most would consider the very core of self-defense. For another, the FBI reports are gathered soon after the investigation and/or arrest, and Clayton found that including acquittals at trial doubled the numbers involved.
2 Comments | Leave a comment
Are you suggesting that FBI statistics may be influenced by DC politics? Surely you jest. (Snark mode off.)
the abstract states: As part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports system, the FBI gathers and reports both civilian and police officer justifiable homicide statistics. The methods by which these numbers are gathered make them gross undercounts of the actual legal, defensive homicides by citizens. Furthermore, comparing the civilian justifiable homicide numbers to criminal homicides for public policy cost/benefit analysis understates the crime reducing effects of civilian gun ownership.
Okay so my question: is this a political choice to support the progressive line that self defensive gun use is rare or just an artifact of their procedures?