Abstract
Is there a relationship between crime victimization and civilian firearm possession? We posit that because crime victimization produces heightened fear of crime, and the perception that government is ineffective as the provider of public safety, it motivates individuals to seek private measures for protection, including the possession of a firearm. Using propensity score matching on survey data from the AmericasBarometer 2012 and 2014 rounds, we find that crime victimization, particularly more violent types of crime, leads individuals to be more acceptant of getting a firearm for protection in 23 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and to actually possess one in three capitals of the Caribbean.
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