An Assessment of Officer-Involved Shooting Data Transparency in the United States.

Although researchers and the public intuitively know that the lack of available data on the topic of officer-involved shootings (OIS) is a problem, the scope of the problem has not been identified. A lack of transparency regarding OIS data contributes to the legitimacy crisis facing policing in the United States. Valid and reliable OIS data would create the ability to craft and assess informed public policy. In addition, police organizations' roles could then be evaluated allowing for accountability and additional training based on OIS incidents. Employing content analysis of websites for police agencies, their municipal/county governments, and sheriffs' offices servicing populations of 100,000 or more according to the 2010 U.S. Census, the availability of OIS data is identified and classified. It was found that 155 (of 277) police agencies and 96 (of 548) sheriffs' offices made some form of data available related to OIS incidents across five categories (annual reports, OIS summary reports, individualized shooting reports, press releases, and spreadsheet reports). The current assessment is the first in the literature to systematically evaluate the transparency of law enforcement organizations servicing large jurisdictions regarding OIS incidents. Those reports and data available are described and placed within the context of the recommended national database proposed by Klinger and colleagues to begin to assess the extent of OIS data transparency issues facing policing. In addition, agencies providing data were compared utilizing one-way analysis of variance on a number of structural variables drawn from the 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies to evaluate any patterns demonstrated by those organizations providing data. Findings suggest great variation in the type, classification, and quality of data presented by law enforcement organizations, which limits its utility for the purposes of research as well as policy creation and evaluation.

Student attitudes toward concealed handguns on campus at 2 universities.

We examined student support for a policy that would allow carrying of concealed handguns on university campuses. Large percentages of students at 2 universities expressed very low levels of comfort with the idea of permitting concealed handgun carrying on campus, suggesting that students may not welcome less restrictive policies. Students held slightly different opinions about concealed handguns on and off campus, suggesting that they view the campus environment as unique with respect to concealed handgun carrying.

How many more guns?: Estimating the effect of allowing licensed concealed handguns on a college campus.

Among other arguments, advocates for lifting bans on carrying concealed handguns on campus propose that this would increase the prevalence of legitimately carried handguns, which might then deter crimes or be used to intervene in campus shooting incidents like the one that took place at Virginia Tech in 2007. Opponents suggest that increased prevalence of concealed handguns would lead to increases in other negative consequences, such as accidental shootings. Little empirical research has examined the potential outcomes of such a policy change, nor has existing research examined the prerequisite issue of whether lifting these bans would result in substantial increases in the prevalence of concealed handguns among students. Using a sample of undergraduate classrooms selected from five academic buildings at a public university in Texas, this study examines the potential impact of lifting the concealed handgun ban on the likelihood that a given classroom would contain at least one legally carried handgun. Results reveal that the impact of potential policy changes in this area vary based on the building under consideration and the measure of potential handgun prevalence. Limitations of the study and implications for future research on the issue of concealed handgun carrying on college campuses are discussed.