Crime Prevention Research Center in the News: Townhall, American Spectator, and other places around the country

Townhall, April 28, 2018

But a study of global mass-shooting incidents from 2009 to 2015 by the Crime Prevention Research Center, headed by economist John Lott, shows the U.S. doesn’t lead the world in mass shootings. In fact, it doesn’t even make the top 10, when measured by death rate per million population from mass public shootings.

So who’s tops? Surprisingly, Norway is, with an outlier mass shooting death rate of 1.888 per million (high no doubt because of the rifle assault by political extremist Anders Brevik that claimed 77 lives in 2011). No. 2 is Serbia, at just 0.381, followed by France at 0.347, Macedonia at 0.337, and Albania at 0.206. Slovakia, Finland, Belgium, and Czech Republic all follow. Then comes the U.S., at No. 11, with a death rate of 0.089.

The idea that this only happens here just isn’t true. . . .

American Spectator, April 26, 2018

Gun-free zones are killing zones, with 85 percent of victims killed in gun-free zones. Gun control expert John Lott has noted that within a 20-minute drive of the Aurora Theater were seven theaters that permitted guns, unlike Aurora. Guess which one the killer targeted? . . .

Hostile media are another huge factor. John Lott checked 2,794 stories after the 2007 Omaha, Nebraska Westroads Mall mass shooting; not one mentioned that the mall was a gun-free zone. . . .

WECT-TV Channel 6, Wilmington, North Carolina, April 27, 2018

More black women are heading to the gun range, taking concealed carry classes and arming themselves in recent years, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center.

A 2017 study from the CPRC found the number of women in North Carolina with a concealed carry permit jumped from 21 percent in 2012 to 29 percent in 2017. The findings also revealed black people got permits at a rate 30 percent faster than white people from 2012-16.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Tia Scriven, a black woman who owns a gun, said. “Recently, there have been more crazy news and events happening in the world. It’s empowering to know you can protect yourself through all that.” . . .

The Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), May 1, 2018

Constitutional carry laws have made individuals, communities and states safer. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, “In 2014, the seven states [at that time] with constitutional carry had much lower rates of murder and violent crime than did the seven jurisdictions with the lowest percentages of permit holders. Indeed, the murder rate was 31 percent lower in the states not requiring permits. The violent crime rate was 28 percent lower.” . . .

The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), April 30, 2018

Over 90 percent of all successful mass shootings since 1950 have occurred in gun-free zones or “soft targets,” according to the Crime Prevention Research Center. This only makes sense since an individual whom has been planning a mass killing for months and even years would surely want to maximize human carnage without risking instant demise, which would thus thwart this heinous act. . . .

San Angelo Live, San Angelo, Texas, April 30 2018

If guns caused gun crime, it would be logical to assume that people who have concealed carry permits, and carry guns around all the time, leave a trail of victims wherever they go. Actually, concealed carry permit holders are, statistically, the least likely of all citizens to commit crimes of all types, including gun crimes. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, police officers in Texas and Florida commit seven times as many misdemeanors and felonies as concealed carry holders in those states. Citizens without permits to carry commit 37 times as many crimes as police officers. . . .

Alabama Today, April 24, 2018

A more recent study by theCrime Prevention Research Center also concluded that 2 percent of counties in the nation make up 52 percent of murders throughout the nation; Mobile county was included in that statistic. . . .

Elko Daily Free Press, April 24, 2018

A study by the Crime Prevention Research Center, using data from Arizona that detailed criminal convictions, found illegal immigrants between 15 and 35 are less than 3 percent of the population, but nearly 8 percent of its prison population. These findings challenge the general narrative that immigrants commit fewer crimes, with past studies usually not making distinctions between legal and illegal populations. . . .