New Book Review: Guns, Violence and Criminal Behavior: The Offender's Perspective

JonInNY · July 6th, 2009, 12:39 PM

Haven't we been saying this all along...

Gun-related crime focus of new book | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan,

Gun-related crime focus of new book

Research suggests harsher laws not deterrent

BY NATE TAYLOR
NateTaylor@coloradoan.com

Research by two CSU professors shows convicts involved in gun-related crimes aren't deterred by laws designed to limit the availability of firearms.

The research is presented in a book co-authored by the Colorado State University professors set to be released later this month.

Titled "Guns, Violence and Criminal Behavior: The Offender's Perspective," the interview-based book examines conceal carry laws, guns and gang culture, motives for criminal gun use and how incarceration shapes criminal gun use.

CSU professor Prabha Unnithan wrote the book with colleague Paul Stretesky, who is leaving CSU to join Mark Pogrebin as a professor at the University of Colorado at Denver.

The three professors said they wrote the book after realizing there wasn't much research conducted from the perspective of criminal gun users.

"It goes to the source," said Unnithan, director of the Center for the Study of Crime and Justice at CSU.

Conducting interviews with 73 inmates, 67 men and six women, serving prison sentences for gun-related crimes, the book shares the criminals' perspective and stories.

Unnithan said the content of the interviews lends itself to both sides of the gun control issue because criminals indicated they have ways to get around conceal carry laws.

"This shows that gun control only affects law-abiding people and not criminals," Unnithan said. "But the majority of offenders also say (gun laws) really don't affect how they do business if someone has a conceal carry permit. They said if they are in a situation where they feel threatened, they'll fire first."

One criminal interviewed in the book, who was convicted of aggravated assault for using a gun during an altercation with another person, said when the criminal and the victim have a gun during an armed robbery, it possibly could turn into a murder because both parties are armed and threatened.

Pogrebin said one aspect of the research he found most intriguing was criminals who indicated they were more likely to carry guns after becoming hooked on methamphetamine.

"When they got into meth, it was a different mindset and there was a different group of people they starting hanging out with and they started carrying weapons," Pogrebin said.

The three researchers said they had criminal records for the convicts they interviewed and used that as background to help ensure they weren't being lied to.

"Everyone tries to put their best face forward," Stretesky said. "Of course they're going to exaggerate, but in terms of some of the questions we asked, yeah, I think they were being as honest as they could be."

retsupt99 · July 6th, 2009, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonInNY

...convicts involved in gun-related crimes aren't deterred by laws designed to limit the availability of firearms...

...criminals indicated they have ways to get around conceal carry laws....

...gun control only affects law-abiding people and not criminals...

...most intriguing was criminals who indicated they were more likely to carry guns after becoming hooked on methamphetamine...

Wow! Those are some surprises...

MinistrMalic · July 6th, 2009, 07:32 PM

I mean...who would have thought that criminals don't care what the laws say!!! :-O

puncho · August 25th, 2009, 09:56 PM

Why wouldn't the media report on this? It was written by other liberals.

MP45Man · August 25th, 2009, 10:34 PM

There's a combination I'm psyched about, some meth head with a gun.

July 6th, 2009, 12:39 PM	#1
JonInNY VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mid-Hudson Valley New York State Posts: 3,465	New Book Review: Guns, Violence and Criminal Behavior: The Offender's Perspective Haven't we been saying this all along... Gun-related crime focus of new book \| coloradoan.com \| The Coloradoan, Gun-related crime focus of new book Research suggests harsher laws not deterrent BY NATE TAYLOR NateTaylor@coloradoan.com Research by two CSU professors shows convicts involved in gun-related crimes aren't deterred by laws designed to limit the availability of firearms. The research is presented in a book co-authored by the Colorado State University professors set to be released later this month. Titled "Guns, Violence and Criminal Behavior: The Offender's Perspective," the interview-based book examines conceal carry laws, guns and gang culture, motives for criminal gun use and how incarceration shapes criminal gun use. CSU professor Prabha Unnithan wrote the book with colleague Paul Stretesky, who is leaving CSU to join Mark Pogrebin as a professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. The three professors said they wrote the book after realizing there wasn't much research conducted from the perspective of criminal gun users. "It goes to the source," said Unnithan, director of the Center for the Study of Crime and Justice at CSU. Conducting interviews with 73 inmates, 67 men and six women, serving prison sentences for gun-related crimes, the book shares the criminals' perspective and stories. Unnithan said the content of the interviews lends itself to both sides of the gun control issue because criminals indicated they have ways to get around conceal carry laws. "This shows that gun control only affects law-abiding people and not criminals," Unnithan said. "But the majority of offenders also say (gun laws) really don't affect how they do business if someone has a conceal carry permit. They said if they are in a situation where they feel threatened, they'll fire first." One criminal interviewed in the book, who was convicted of aggravated assault for using a gun during an altercation with another person, said when the criminal and the victim have a gun during an armed robbery, it possibly could turn into a murder because both parties are armed and threatened. Pogrebin said one aspect of the research he found most intriguing was criminals who indicated they were more likely to carry guns after becoming hooked on methamphetamine. "When they got into meth, it was a different mindset and there was a different group of people they starting hanging out with and they started carrying weapons," Pogrebin said. The three researchers said they had criminal records for the convicts they interviewed and used that as background to help ensure they weren't being lied to. "Everyone tries to put their best face forward," Stretesky said. "Of course they're going to exaggerate, but in terms of some of the questions we asked, yeah, I think they were being as honest as they could be." __________________ "The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." -- Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers at 184-8

July 6th, 2009, 07:32 PM	#3
MinistrMalic Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 481	I mean...who would have thought that criminals don't care what the laws say!!! :-O __________________ "...whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one." (Luke 22:36) Here is my blog if you're interested :)

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August 25th, 2009, 09:56 PM	#4
puncho Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South Posts: 378	Why wouldn't the media report on this? It was written by other liberals.

August 25th, 2009, 10:34 PM	#5
MP45Man Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: State of Guns and Religion Posts: 835	There's a combination I'm psyched about, some meth head with a gun.