The Firearm Fatality Reporting System

Abstract

RECOMMENDATION: [R]equire that firearm injuries, in addition to being reportable to the police, be reportable to health departments. Place greater emphasis on coding the type of firearm on the death certificate. Develop a national fatal firearm injury reporting system, comparable to FARS [Fatal Accident Reporting System], with sufficient data for documenting the firearm problem and designing prevention strategies. —from Cost of Injury in the United States 1 Firearms are the vehicle of death for approximately 34 000 people each year in the United States. The estimated lifetime costs for firearm injuries that occurred in 1985 will be $14.4 billion. 1 Firearm policy, as expressed most often through legislation, is in part health policy. For groups such as young African-American males, for whom almost half of all deaths are caused by gunfire, 2 gun policy may be more influential to their health status than any other form of health policy. But