Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
http://thinkinggunfighter.blogspot.com/2012/03/self-defense-findings.html
Self Defense Findings
Many thanks to Claude Werner of Firearms Safety Training LLC for the analysis reported here, based on cases originally covered in the NRA's Armed Citizen column over a five-year period, from 1997 - 2001.
A common refrain from those who are seriously interested in 'the numbers' regarding the self defense experiences of armed citizens is that there just is so little reliable data upon which to base analysis. So we take what we can get. A certain number of people criticize Tom Givens for making reference to the experiences of his students who have been involved in self defense shootings ... but at the very least, Tom's students represent a statistically valid sample from which to draw useful conclusions. Until there are larger populations/more data available from someplace/anyplace, we have to do the best we can with what we have, while recognizing the shortcomings in the available data we necessarily must deal with in the process. The unknown and unavailable "real number" is what my wife the criminologist refers to as "the dark figure of crime."
For example, many instances of self defense by armed citizens are not statistically accessible, simply because they are never formally reported in such a way as to make them available to anyone seeking to analyze the statistics. Some numerical conclusions have been extrapolated by various researchers using available reports, but we still don't have a way to capture every single use of defensive firearms by private citizens. Probably we never will have such a thing, but we can hope for better days.
In idle moments I've sometimes wished that every single state that offers concealed carry permits, in the process of renewing said permits, would conduct a simple anonymous survey covering defensive use of firearms by the permit holder in the previous permit period. It still wouldn't be perfect, but it could offer us a clearer picture of just how often armed citizens were forced to access their weapons in self defense, even with no shots fired.
ETA: In the event you don't read the comments at the original link above, be sure and go to http://blog.hsoi.com/2012/03/08/looking-deeper-into-the-findings/ for more discussion.
Self Defense Findings
Many thanks to Claude Werner of Firearms Safety Training LLC for the analysis reported here, based on cases originally covered in the NRA's Armed Citizen column over a five-year period, from 1997 - 2001.
A common refrain from those who are seriously interested in 'the numbers' regarding the self defense experiences of armed citizens is that there just is so little reliable data upon which to base analysis. So we take what we can get. A certain number of people criticize Tom Givens for making reference to the experiences of his students who have been involved in self defense shootings ... but at the very least, Tom's students represent a statistically valid sample from which to draw useful conclusions. Until there are larger populations/more data available from someplace/anyplace, we have to do the best we can with what we have, while recognizing the shortcomings in the available data we necessarily must deal with in the process. The unknown and unavailable "real number" is what my wife the criminologist refers to as "the dark figure of crime."
For example, many instances of self defense by armed citizens are not statistically accessible, simply because they are never formally reported in such a way as to make them available to anyone seeking to analyze the statistics. Some numerical conclusions have been extrapolated by various researchers using available reports, but we still don't have a way to capture every single use of defensive firearms by private citizens. Probably we never will have such a thing, but we can hope for better days.
In idle moments I've sometimes wished that every single state that offers concealed carry permits, in the process of renewing said permits, would conduct a simple anonymous survey covering defensive use of firearms by the permit holder in the previous permit period. It still wouldn't be perfect, but it could offer us a clearer picture of just how often armed citizens were forced to access their weapons in self defense, even with no shots fired.
ETA: In the event you don't read the comments at the original link above, be sure and go to http://blog.hsoi.com/2012/03/08/looking-deeper-into-the-findings/ for more discussion.