The Social Organization of Self-Help: A Study of Defensive Weapon Ownership

The effect of perceived risk and victimization on plans to purchase a gun for self-protection

“…Most of these studies found the expected positive relationship between fear/risk and protective gun ownership, but many of the coefficient estimates were nonsignificant. Significant positive associations were found by his colleagues (1980, 1981), Smith and Uchida (1988), and Cao et al (1997). The studies by Lizotte and colleagues were exemplary in many ways.…”

“…The path analysis, however, also showed that crime rates were significantly and positively related to perceived risk, which in turn was significantly and positively related to fear of crime, which in turn was significantly and positively related to defensive gun ownership. Smith and Uchida (1988), using a three-city sample (Rochester, St. Louis, and St. Petersburg), reported that defensive household weapons ownership was positively associated with both measures of perceived crime risk. Moreover, the authors found that the effect of perceived risk on protective ownership was largely contingent on household income: households in which respondents reported a greater chance of being victimized in the future were more likely to own a defensive weapon, an effect which strengthened as household income increased.…”

Firearm Violence and Effects on Concealed Gun Carrying: Large Debate and Small Effects

“…To begin, scholars positing the collective security hypothesis contend that fear of crime, coupled with the perception of inadequate police response to protect citizens, influences individual decisions to rely upon a gun for self-protection (Carlson, 2012;Gau, 2008;McDowall & Loftin, 1983;Smith & Uchida, 1988;Young et al, 1987). Black's (1980) articulation of the "self-help" hypothesis mirrors this argument.…”

Linking confidence in the police with the performance of the police: Community policing can make a difference

“…Informal collective security refers to another aspect of local culture: whether neighbors can be relied on in the case of criminal attack/general assistance (Cao et al, 1996;Luxenburg, Cullen, Langworthy, & Kopache, 1994;McDowall & Loftin, 1983;Smith & Uchida, 1988). It was possible that confidence in oneTs neighborhood bred confidence in the police.…”