How Many Times A Year Do Americans Defend Themselves With Guns?

[bouis]

I've used a gun to defend myself exactly once. I caught a guy armed with a shovel handle and a screwdriver trying to break into my apartment in the early afteroon on a weekday (ah, college), and ran him off by brandishing my 9mm. It's funny, because when he saw me through the sliding glass door, I was holding it behind my back -- he didn't run away until I let him see it.

I've never been polled and I didn't report the attempted burglary to the police, because I didn't really get a good look at him (no contact lenses in at the time, was looking at his hands, etc.), and I didn't have a phone. I wasn't going to leave the apartment either, so my first chance to call someone would have been about ten hours later when my roommate came back in.

So when someone says 2 million defensive uses per year, I don't doubt it...

 

[strambo]

Wait, are these numbers based on surveys or actual crime data?

There is a concept in criminal justice called something like the "black hole" of crime. We just don't know how many crimes are really committed and certainly not how many defensive gun uses. All we know is what is reported to the police. That data can be found at fbi.gov and is called the UCR (Uniform Crime Report).

The DOJ conducts the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and is just that, a survey. It obviously projects a higher crime rate because it extrapolates from responses that include un-reported crimes. If you look at the UCR, NCVS and these defensive gun use surveys, you can get a decent picture of crime trends, #s and statistical risk in a very generalized sense.

I use crime data to keep my training oriented realistically. For example, in assaults, roughly 30-40% are unarmed. The rest involve weapons, 25-33% firearms, the balance made up of knives (I think about 15%), clubs and "other". That tells me that 60-70% of the time I'll be facing armed oponent(s), so my training should reflect this. Also, I believe multiple opponents were the case in many assaults 33% plus. So, I try to train against multiple and/or armed opponents in my HtoH training about 75% of the time.

In contrast, most MA studios, I've seen almost never train multiple opponents and only train weapons on occasion. 90% is one on one unarmed. Not necessarily a criticsm of MA, they are learning a specific, traditional system. My only concern is survival, so I want my preparation to be in line with the nature of the threat as much as possible. The #s don't need to be precise, just need to show a trend.