We have updated our data on who extremely concentrated murders are in the US. The worst 1% of counties (the worst 31 counties) have 20% of the population and 41% of the murders. The worst 2% of counties (63 counties) contain 30% of the population and 54% of the...
Crime Prevention
Research Center
Dedicated to conducting academic quality research on the relationship between laws regulating the ownership or use of guns, crime, and public safety
Latest Research
UPDATED: Democrats join dramatically growing calls to ‘Abolish ICE,’ Some Democrats also call for Defunding the Police and Abolishing Prisons. Links to their statements on these issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVv_-jaBnZk Bill Maher: "this new wing with all the energy and it's not just a few people anymore. I read every day I read about a new person in some Colorado and Wisconsin, somebody who is saying some variation of not defund...
The Latest Research
Get our latest research on crime sent straight to you. Find out what law enforcement and gun ownership policies will make people safer
Latest Columns
At Real Clear Politics: The Second Amendment Opinion That Scrambled the Partisan Script
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics on the assault weapon ban decision out of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. It was also published at The Epoch Times. . Friday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Third Circuit striking...
At Townhall: Why We Need the SAVE America Act
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Townhall on the push for the SAVE America Act. . Democrats argue that requiring voter photo IDs—even when the ID itself is given away free—creates practical barriers that prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. “We’re all set for...
At The Federalist: Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Really Is Slashing Violent Crime
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed piece at The Federalist. It was also linked to by Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, and ACE of Spades HQ. Two days after the piece was posted, it was still the second most read piece at The Federalist (see the bottom of the post). . Is crime...
At Real Clear Investigations: Mythbuster: U.S. Much Safer Than Many Peer Nations
Dr. John Lott has a new investigations piece at Real Clear Investigations. Also published at Zero Hedge, The Press (Brentwood, California), Times-Leader (Fairfield, MT), TippInsights, Conservative News and Views, and USSA News. . Conventional wisdom holds that the...
In Montana’s Lee Newspapers: I-194 threatens free speech for citizen groups
Dr. John Lott has an op-ed with Montana state representative Greg Overstreet in the Lee Newspapers in Montana including the Butte Montana Standard and the Ravalli Valley Ravalli Republic. Overstreet is a Montana state representative for House District 88. . You have...
At Real Clear Politics: Crossing a State Line Shouldn’t Cost You Your Right to Self-Defense
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics. Also published in the Journal Courier (Illinois) and Conservative News and Views. . Imagine a woman driving across state lines alone at night, fearful that her car might break down and leave her vulnerable. Or...
At Real Clear Politics: CA Lawmakers Seek To Ban Popular Handguns
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics. Also at YahooNews! and World Net Daily. . California’s new ban on Glock handguns takes effect on July 1. It is a new tactic for gun control advocates. Instead of trying to ban all handguns, a growing number of...
In the Toronto Sun: Canada’s crime problem worse than people realize
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed with Canadian Professor Gary Mauser on the high violent crime rate in Canada that explains the research that we recently posted. . Canada faces a serious crime problem, but many Canadians believe crime is relatively low compared with the...
Videos
Talks
Talk at Freedomfest 2026 Why Self-defense is Critical for Public Safety
Dr. John Lott gave a talk at Freedomfest on why self-defense is critical for public safety. Here is the audio of his talk and a copy of his PowerPoint. Unfortunately, there were real technical difficulties with showing people the PowerPoint so people weren't able to...
Talk in Houston: Gun Control Myths
Dr. John Lott gave a talk in Houston on April 17th, 2026 titled "Gun Control Myths." The audio here isn't perfect,, but hopefully between the audio and the PowerPoint the main message will get across. For those interested, there is also the book....
Talk in Houston: The FBI Crime Data is a Politicized Mess
Dr. John Lott gave a talk in Houston on April 17th, 2026 titled "The FBI Crime Data is a Politicized Mess." The audio here isn't perfect,, but hopefully between the audio and the PowerPoint the main message will get across. This audio missed the first 10 minutes of...
Media Appearances
On What’s On Your Mind: To Discuss the Crime Statistics
Dr. John Lott Jr. appeared on What’s On Your Mind with Scott Hennen, broadcast across North Dakota, South Dakota, western Minnesota, eastern Montana, and the southern central Canadian provinces, to discuss the National Crime Victimization Survey, exposing massive...
On Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham Show: To Discuss the SAVE America Act
Dr. John Lott appeared on the national Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham to discuss the SAVE America Act, election integrity, and voter fraud. See also Dr. Lott's new op-ed at Townhall titled "Why We Need the SAVE America Act." (Sunday, July 19, 2026, from 9:08 to...
On NewsMax’s The Pulse with David Harris Jr.: To Discuss Federal Crime Crackdown, Concealed Carry Reciprocity, and International Crime Comparisons
https://youtu.be/VUuqzsLmtFk Dr. John Lott appeared on NewsMax’s The Pulse with David Harris Jr. to discuss the Trump administration’s deployment of 11 federal agencies to combat violent crime in Chicago, the push for national concealed carry reciprocity, how...
All Our Posts
Are most people in prison there for crimes motivated by poverty? No, poverty explains just a few percent of the variation in crime rates, and relatively few crimes are related to poverty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldlsMfnlQq8 This interview on Fox News Sunday with the co-chair of the Democratic Socialist of America has the claim that most people in prison there for crimes motivated by poverty. Here are some facts: Roughly 58.2% of state prisoners...
Defensive Gun Uses By People Legally Carrying Guns: 21 Cases During February 2026
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 2, 2026 (WBRZ) An arrest warrant for Daylin Woods says that he was with his girlfriend, Savannah Spears, when he ordered a to-go meal from the LJK Roun 2 Cafe on Feb. 2. After he paid and left with the food, Woods reportedly called the...
DHS says 35,152 noncitizens are registered to vote in NJ, Democrat governor says 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote after error in NJ motor vehicle system, but this is only those who told the system that the were noncitizens, Vendor says decision to include the 6,600 was the state government’s
About 6,600 people who indicated they were noncitizens while obtaining New Jersey driver's licenses and other state IDs were improperly registered to vote in 2023 and 2024 . . . blamed a Motor Vehicle Commission system software error but said a preliminary analysis...
















