WEAPON INVOLVEMENT IN-HOME INVASION CRIMES

Objective.-To study the epidemiology of home invasion crimes and deter mine the frequency with which firearms are used to resist these crimes . Design.-Prospective case series. Setting.-Atlanta, Ga (population 40 2 877). Methods.-Between June 1 and August 31, 1994, Atlanta Police De partment reports were screened to identify every case of unwanted entr y into an occupied, single-family dwelling. Cases of sexual assault an d incidents that involved cohabitants were excluded. Results.-A total of 198 cases were identified during the study interval. Half (99 cases ) involved forced entry into the home. The victim and offender were ac quainted in one third of cases. A firearm was carried by one or more o ffenders in 32 cases (17%). Seven offenders (3.5%) carried knives. In 42% of cases, the offender fled without confronting the victim. Victim s who avoided confrontation were more likely to lose property but much less likely to be injured than those who were confronted by the offen der. Resistance was attempted in 62 cases (31%), but the odds of injur y were not significantly affected by the method of resistance. Forty c ases (20%) resulted in one or more victims' being injured, including s ix (3%) who were shot. No one died. Three victims (1.5%) employed a fi rearm in self-protection. All three escaped injury, but one lost prope rty. Conclusion.-A minority of home invasion crimes result in injury. Measures that increase the difficulty of forced entry or enhance the l ikelihood of detection could be useful to prevent these crimes. Althou gh firearms are often kept in the home for protection, they are rarely used for this purpose.