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Weapon Choice and American Political Violence: A Comparison of Terrorist and Other Felons in Federal Custody

NCJ Number
228409
Journal
Criminology and Public Policy Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 531-559
Author(s)
Richard L. Legault; James C. Hendrickson
Date Published
August 2009
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This comparative analysis study examined the firearm-offending characteristics of a sample of Federal felons and terrorists using data from the American Terrorism Study and the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Abstract
Study findings indicate that many systematic differences exist between terrorists and other types of Federal felons and that terrorists were more likely than other felons to be convicted of firearm-related crimes. It is recommended that efforts to monitor weapons sales continue to include those named on the terrorist watch list, and Federal law-enforcement agencies should coordinates these efforts. Recent policy debates regarding the terrorism-crime nexus have focused on firearms. However, most research on terrorism has focused on terrorist groups or incidents, not on individuals who have participated in terrorism; therefore, little research has examined terrorist weapon choice or any individual-level characteristic of terrorists. Using data from the American Terrorism Study and the U.S. Sentencing Commission, this study examined the firearm-offending characteristics of 923 Federal felons and 336 terrorists. Figure, tables, references, and appendix

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