Context is critical.
SOME FACTS. Most victims of gun violence don’t die. They survive. Most are not women and children. They’re young men. Most are not injured in mass shootings. Mass shootings are, in fact, incredibly rare.
When telling the story of gun violence in America, it’s not enough to simply report what’s in front of you. Facts are important. Context is critical.
What role did lack of funding play, did systemic racism play, did disinvestment in public health play? How could this have been prevented? What are solutions that work?
The above questions will help you with context. The local and national resources below will help you with more.
National Data Catalogue: U.S. Crime & Gun Violence Statistics
The below catalogue was provided by the Expert Panel on Firearms Data Infrastructure. Related descriptions, firearms-related variables, limitations, currency and characteristics can be found in Appendix A of the First Report of the Expert Panel on Firearms Data Infrastructure.
- National Crime Databases
- FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) | Summary Reporting System (SRS)
- FBI Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) | (Also)
- FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Program National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program Law Enforcement Hate Crime Statistics
- BJS Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Program
- BJS National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP)
- National Firearms Databases
- ATF Firearms Trace Data
- ATF Listing of Federal Firearms Licensees
- ATF Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report
- ATF Firearms Commerce in the United States Annual Statistical Update 2018
- Federal Firearms Licensee Statistics Theft/Loss Reports
- National Firearms Act (NFA) National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR)
- National Public Health Databases
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Vital Statistics System
- CDC Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Report System (WISQARS)
- CDC WONDER (National Center for Health Statistics)
- CDC National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
- K-12 School Shooting Database, FEMA, Homeland Security
- Firearm Injury Surveillance Study
- Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- State-Level Hospital Discharge and ED Databases (Varies by state, data can also be accessed via HCUP for participating states)
- National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)
- National Fatality Review Case Reporting System
- Population-Level Survey Data
- Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
- BJS Police-Public Contact Survey (PPCS)
- CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
- NORC General Social Survey (GSS)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS)
- Polling Report (Guns)
- Federal Justice System Survey Data/Ancillary Justice Data Collections
- BJS Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI)
- BJS Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
- BJS National Judicial Report Program (NJRP)
- BJS NICS Act State Record Estimates
- BJS Survey of Law Enforcement Gang Units (SLEGU)
- BJS Survey of Inmates in Local Jails (SILJ)
- BJS Survey of Large Jails
- BJS Survey of State Procedures Related To Firearm Sales
- BJS National Former Prisoner Survey (NFPS)
- Nonprofit and Private Policy Data, Ancillary (Covariate) Data, Convenience Data, and Surveys
- Gun Violence Archive
- Giffords Law Center (GLC)
- Firearm Safety Among Children & Teens (FACTS) Consortium
- Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing
- Stanford Open Policing Project
- SciLaw Criminal Records Database
- EveryStat for Gun Safety
- The Trace Violent Crimes Data
- Integrated Data
More Philadelphia Data & Resources [I’VE DELETED AND/OR UPDATED A HANDFUL OF RESOURCES FROM YOUR SITE THAT HAVE OUTDATED LINKS]
- Crime Incidents, 2006-present (OpenDataPhilly)
- City of Philadelphia Injury Prevention Dashboard
- Philadelphia Police Interactive Map
- Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Public Data Dashboard
- Right-to-Know Law information, contacts, and form
- 100 Shooting Review Committee Report
- Group Violence Intervention progress update: December 2021
- Health of the City: A report on community health in Philadelphia
- The Philadelphia Roadmap to Safer Communities: Progress updates
- Deaths and Injuries from Firearms in Philadelphia public health report
- Philadelphia Obituary Project
- With Love
- Memorials to the Lost
- Souls Shot Portrait Project
- National Gun Violence Memorial: Philadelphia