Illegal Guns in the Wrong Hands: Patterns of Gun Acquisition and Use among Serious Juvenile Delinquents

Both liberal and conservative arguments on the issue of gun control legislation point to the importance of controlling gun possession among criminal offenders with conservatives arguing that no gun control legislation can effectively control gun possession among criminals because they do not use legal means to obtain their guns while liberals argue that guns cause crime and must be controlled. Illegal Guns in the Wrong Hands uses data from a sample of approximately 800 incarcerated juveniles from Indiana to examine the methods through which juvenile offenders obtain firearms, the causes of their firearm acquisition and use, their preferences when it comes to choosing a firearm and the reasons for that choice, and the role that guns play in their offending behaviors. The results suggest that only a small percentage of the sample would attempt to purchase a firearm legally; the vast majority would obtain a firearm in means that would circumvent existing regulations. Contrary to evidence on adults, however, the youth in this sample state that they are most likely to acquire a firearm from a friend or relative, and not as a result of theft. Further, there are few significant demographic and contextual factors that explain source of firearm acquisition. Implications of these findings for future research and gun policy are discussed.