NONFATAL FIREARM MISUSE - LICENSE STATUS OF PERPETRATORS AND LEGALITYOF THE FIREARMS

The primary aim of this study was to identify the licence status of th ose involved in incidents of nonfatal firearm-related misuse and to de termine the involvement of legal firearms in such incidents. Firearm-r elated attempted suicides were excluded. The study also sought to iden tify the types of firearms most likely to be misused. Over a three-mon th period in early 1994, all nonfatal firearm-related incidents report ed in any New Zealand newspaper were identified by a commercial clippi ng bureau. Data pertaining to the licence status and the legality of t he firearm involved in these incidents were obtained from the police w ho completed a standardised questionnaire under the Official Informati on Act (1982). Over the study period, 78 incidents yielded information on 97 perpetrators and 100 firearms. Of the 97 perpetrators, 66 per c ent were unlicensed, 20 per cent were licensed, the licence status of 8 per cent of the perpetrators was unknown and the remaining 7 per cen t were using air guns, and therefore a licence was not required. Half of the perpetrators involved in domestic disputes were licensed. Of th e 100 firearms, 44 per cent were classified as 'legal firearms' and 56 per cent were classified as 'illegal firearms'. These findings sugges t that strategies aimed at reducing or preventing injury due to firear m misuse must focus on both licensed and unlicensed individuals and bo th legal and illegal firearms.