Use Of Firearms Research Articles

Bang for the buck: The impact of political financial contributions on firearm law.

One hundred thousand Americans are shot annually, and 39,000 die. State laws restricting firearm sales and use have been shown to decrease firearm deaths, yet little is known about what impacts their passage or repeal. We hypothesized that spending by groups that favor firearm restrictive legislation would increase new state firearm restrictive laws (FRLs) and that states increasing these laws would endure fewer firearm deaths. We acquired 2013 to 2018 state data on spending by groups against firearm restrictive legislation and for firearm restrictive legislation regarding lobbying, campaign, and independent and total expenditures from the National Institute on Money in State Politics. State-level political party representation data were acquired from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Mass shooting data were obtained from the Mass Shooter Database of the Violence Project, and firearm death rates were obtained from Centers for Disease Control Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research and Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting databases. Firearm restrictive laws were obtained from the State Firearms Law Database. A univariate panel linear regression with fixed effect for state was performed with change in FRLs from baseline as the outcome. A final multivariable panel regression with fixed effect for state was then used. Firearm death rates were compared by whether states increased, decreased, or had no change in FRLs. Twenty-two states gained and 13 lost FRLs, while 15 states had no net change (44%, 26%, and 30%; p = 0.484). In multivariable regression accounting for partisan control of state government, for-firearm restrictive legislation groups outspending against-firearm restrictive legislation groups had the largest association with increased FRLs (β = 1.420; 95% confidence interval, 0.63-2.21; p < 0.001). States that gained FRLs had significantly lower firearm death rates (p < 0.001). Relative to states with no change in FRLs, states that lost FRLs had an increase in overall firearm death of 1 per 100,000 individuals. States that gained FRLs had a net decrease in median overall firearm death of 0.5 per 100,000 individuals. Higher political spending by groups in favor of restrictive firearm legislation has a powerful association with increasing and maintaining FRLs. States that increased their FRLs, in turn, showed lower firearm death rates. Epidemiological, level I.

Challenges in Risk Assessment with Rural Domestic Violence Victims: Implications for Practice.

Through interviews the present study examined the perspectives of service providers (n = 14) in the violence against women (VAW) sector regarding risk factors and challenges in assessing risk for women experiencing domestic violence (DV) in rural locations. The present study also examined what promising practices VAW service providers are utilizing when working with women experiencing DV in rural locations. Interviews were coded and analyzed in a qualitative analysis computer program. Analysis indicated several risk factors including the location (i.e., geographic isolation, lack of transportation, and lack of community resources) and cultural factors (i.e., accepted and more available use of firearms, poverty, and no privacy/anonymity). Moreover, analyses indicated several challenges for VAW service providers assessing risk including barriers at the systemic (i.e., lack of agreement between services), organizational (i.e., lack of collaboration and risk assessment being underutilized/valued), and individual client (i.e., complexity of issues) level. However, participants outlined promising practices being implemented for rural locations such as interagency collaboration, public education, professional education, and outreach programs. The findings support other research in the field that highlight the increased vulnerability of women experiencing DV in rural locations and the added barriers and complexities in assessing risk for rural populations. Implications for future research and practice include further examination of the identified promising practices, a continued focus on collaborative approaches and innovative ways to prevent and manage risk in a rural context.

Study protocol: developing and evaluating an interactive web platform to teach children hunting, shooting and firearms safety: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundFirearms injuries present a major pediatric public health challenge in the United States. This study protocol describes research to develop and then conduct a randomized clinical trial to evaluate ShootSafe, an interactive, engaging, educational website to teach children firearms safety.ShootSafe has three primary goals: (a) teach children basic knowledge and skills needed to hunt, shoot, and use firearms safely; (b) help children learn and hone critical cognitive skills of impulse control and hypothetical thinking needed to use firearms safely; and (c) alter children’s perceptions about their own vulnerability and susceptibility to firearms-related injuries, the severity of those injuries, and their perceived norms about peer behavior surrounding firearms use. ShootSafe will accomplish these goals through a combination of interactive games plus short, impactful testimonial videos and short expert-led educational videos.MethodsFollowing website development, ShootSafe will be evaluated through a randomized controlled trial with 162 children ages 10–12, randomly assigning children to engage in ShootSafe or an active control website. Multiple self-report, computer-based, and behavioral measures will assess functioning at baseline, immediately following training, and at 4-month follow-up. Four sets of outcomes will be considered: firearms safety knowledge; cognitive skills in impulse control and hypothetical thinking; perceptions about firearms safety; and simulated behavior when handling, storing and transporting firearms. Training in both conditions will comprise two 45-min sessions.DiscussionIf results are as hypothesized, ShootSafe offers potential as a theory-based program to teach children firearms safety in an accessible, engaging and educational manner. Translation into practice is highly feasible.Trial registrationThe study protocol was registered on 11/10/20 at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04622943).

Association of Firearm Access, Use, and Victimization During Adolescence With Firearm Perpetration During Adulthood in a 16-Year Longitudinal Study of Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System

Preventing firearm violence requires understanding its antecedents. Yet no comprehensive longitudinal study has examined how involvement with firearms during adolescence-use, access, and victimization (defined as threatened with a weapon or gunshot injury)-is associated with the perpetration of firearm violence in adulthood. To examine the association between firearm involvement during adolescence and subsequent firearm perpetration and ownership in adulthood among youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This cohort study analyzed interview responses of 1829 randomly selected participants as part of the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a longitudinal study of health needs and outcomes of youth sampled from a temporary juvenile detention center in a large US city. Youth aged 10 to 18 years were interviewed in detention from November 1995 through June 1998. Participants were reinterviewed up to 13 times over 16 years through February 2015, for a total of 17 776 interviews. The sample was stratified by sex, race/ethnicity, age, and legal status (juvenile or adult court). Data were analyzed from April 2017, when data preparation began, through November 2020. Firearm involvement during adolescence: use (ie, threaten, shoot), access (ownership, ease of access, firearm in household, membership in gang that carries firearms), and victimization (gunshot injury, threatened with a weapon). Firearm involvement during adulthood: perpetration of firearm violence (ie, threatening with or using a firearm) and firearm ownership. Among the 1829 participants, 1388 had a 16-year follow-up interview: 860 males, 528 females; 809 were African American, 203 were non-Hispanic White; 374 were Hispanic; and 2 were other race/ethnicity; median (interquartile range) age of 32 (30-32) years. Eighty-five percent of males and 63.2% of females were involved with firearms as adolescents. Compared with females, males had significantly higher odds of every type of involvement except having a firearm in the home. In adulthood, 41.3% of males and 10.5% of females perpetrated firearm violence. Adolescents who had been threatened with a weapon or injured by firearms had 3.1 (95% CI, 2.0-4.9) and 2.4 (95% CI, 1.2-4.9) times the odds of perpetrating violence during adulthood. Similar associations were found for firearm ownership. Involvement with firearms during adolescence-including victimization-is a significant risk factor for firearm perpetration and ownership during adulthood.

Holder Norsk politiutdanning mål (slik politiet selv vurderer den)?

AbstractThe Norwegian Police University College is required to regularly evaluate and ensure the quality of the education in order to maintain its accreditation as an institution of higher education. A central aspect of this quality control is to make sure that the education is relevant for the field of practice and the policing profession. The Police University College has therefore on three occasions since 2006 sent out a survey to police officers three years after graduation and asked them to evaluate the relevance of the education in general, and more specifically to evaluate their own qualifications in different areas of competence. A similar questionnaire was sent to the supervisors of the post-graduates to get a broader comparative perspective.&#x0D; The overarching aim of this article is to find out to what degree newly educated police officers and their leaders perceive the police education to provide a sufficient preparation for the police profession. To shed light on this question we will present and analyse data from the “quality surveys” mentioned above, but mainly from the 2015 survey. Overall, the findings presented in the article suggest thatboth the newly educated police officers and their leaders generally perceive the education to provide a sufficient preparation for the police profession. However, the leaders tend to give a better score than the newly educated police officers both overall and on specific qualification. Moreover, when looking into specific areas of competences we find that both groups tend to give the lowest scores on physical and operational qualifications such as use of firearms. A discussion of possible causes and implications of the findings is included in the article.

Огневой бой и удар холодным оружием в пехотной тактике начала XVIII века

The author analyses the European infantry tactics at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries paying special attention to the use of firearms and cold weapon. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that the military science of that epoch is considered through the lens of confrontation between supporters of the volley firing doctrine and the bayonet doctrine, which largely determined national specifics of some European armies. The conducted research allows concluding that, despite common trends in the West European military theory, the problem of using firearms and cold weapon was approached differently. The Russian military officials had negative perception of the European military science and adhered to the principle that the European military strategies should be introduced only after their approbation in field conditions.

АНАЛІЗ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ ВОГНЕМЕТНИХ ПІДРОЗДІЛІВ ПІД ЧАС ПРОВЕДЕННЯ АНТИТЕРОРИСТИЧНОЇ ОПЕРАЦІЇ

The purpose of the article is to analyze the study of trends in the development of major types of firearms by advanced countries; execution of tasks of fire defeat of the enemy with the use of firearms in modern armed conflicts; analysis of the use of flamethrower units during the anti-terrorist operation; problems of development of available samples of firearms of domestic production and delineation of ways of their overcoming; the main provisions of the current guidelines on fire damage to the enemy with the use of firearms, in particular, the Guidelines for the operational work of military authorities. The analysis showed that the issues of combat use of units armed with jet infantry flamethrowers were studied incompletely. Previous studies do not allow to establish the degree of conformity of the capabilities of parts of jet infantry flamethrowers to the scope of combat missions that may be entrusted to them during the anti-terrorist operation. These studies are usually partial in nature and do not allow a full assessment of the combat capabilities of flamethrower units. The article presents views on improving tactics and testing of new methods of using firearms in a hybrid war. Based on the generalization of the experience of modern armed conflicts, a number of possible typical ways of using firearms in defensive combat (operations), in offensive (counter-offensive) combat (operations), during the operation to withdraw troops (forces) from enemy strikes, during actions as part of the rear guard unit, during combat operations by flamethrower units of the Navy. The list of these methods of using firearms is not exhaustive. With the further accumulation of combat experience, it can be supplemented. The analysis allows us to state that the firearms currently in the service of the CBRN troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are significantly inferior in their characteristics to the considered modern and promising models and do not meet modern requirements for armed struggle. Keywords: jet infantry flamethrower, thermobaric charge, fire damage, use of flamethrower weapons, flamethrower.

2021 National Firearms Survey

This report summarizes the findings of a national survey of firearms ownership and use conducted between February 17th and March 23rd, 2021 by the professional survey firm Centiment. This survey, which is part of a larger book project, aims to provide the most comprehensive assessment of firearms ownership and use patterns in America to date. This online survey was administered to a representative sample of approximately fifty-four thousand U.S. residents aged 18 and over, and it identified 16,708 gun owners who were, in turn, asked in-depth questions about their ownership and their use of firearms, including defensive uses of firearms. Consistent with other recent survey research, the survey finds an overall rate of adult firearm ownership of 31.9%, suggesting that in excess of 81.4 million Americans aged 18 and over own firearms. The survey further finds that approximately a third of gun owners (31.1%) have used a firearm to defend themselves or their property, often on more than one occasion, and it estimates that guns are used defensively by firearms owners in approximately 1.67 million incidents per year. Handguns are the most common firearm employed for self-defense (used in 65.9% of defensive incidents), and in most defensive incidents (81.9%) no shot was fired. Approximately a quarter (25.2%) of defensive incidents occurred within the gun owner's home, and approximately half (53.9%) occurred outside their home, but on their property. About one out of ten (9.1%) defensive gun uses occurred in public, and about one out of twenty (4.8%) occurred at work. A majority of gun owners (56.2%) indicate that they carry a handgun for self-defense in at least some circumstances, and about 35% of gun owners report carrying a handgun with some frequency. We estimate that approximately 20.7 million gun owners (26.3%) carry a handgun in public under a ``concealed carry'' regime; and 34.9% of gun owners report that there have been instances in which they had wanted to carry a handgun for self-defense, but local rules did not allow them to carry. The average gun owner owns 5 firearms, and handguns are the most common type of firearm owned. 48.0% of gun owners have owned magazines that hold over 10 rounds, and 30.2% of gun owners -- totaling about 24.6 million individuals -- have owned an AR-15 or similarly styled rifle. Demographically, gun owners are diverse. 42.2% are female and 57.8% are male. Approximately 25.4% of Blacks own firearms, 28.3% of Hispanics own firearms, 19.4% of Asians own firearms, and 34.3% of Whites own firearms.

Методика преподавания огневой подготовки: адаптация к условиям профессиональной деятельности

The ability to shoot for future law enforcement officers is an important and competitively oriented skill for entering, building a career in the law enforcement system, since weapon training is part of the professionally applied combat and physical training of employees of state de-partmental structures. Training and improvement of shooting skills is carried out within the framework of conducting weapon training classes. We consider the methods of teaching weapon training for students of specialty 40.05.01 “Legal Support of National Security” on the basis of a civil university – Derzhavin Tambov State University. A weapon training session is the foundation that lays both primary shooting skills and, subsequently, a platform for improving and honing skills. Most of the weapon training classes are not theoretical, but practical. The main methods of teaching both theoretical and practical lessons in weapon training are considered. However, the existing methods of teaching and learning shooting skills does not meet modern practical challenges. Currently, practical exercises for conducting weapon training classes, which are regulated and recommended by the relevant regulatory legal acts (not only general methodic recommendations for training students in civilian universities, but also orders and instructions from specialized educational institutions of law enforcement agencies) do not correspond to the real conditions and situations of the use of firearms. In particular, it is worth considering the fact that calm and quiet conditions for firing a shot are only opportunities in a practical lesson. In real life, weapons have to be used in extreme situations and in conditions of a difficult mental state. In this regard, there is a methodic adaptation of the teaching of the discipline of weapon training to the modern practical realities of the trafficking and use of weapons.

Prevalence of exposure to violence among adults - Brazil, 2019.

To estimate the prevalence of exposure to violence, characterizing its magnitude, types and occurrence in the adult population in Brazil. Cross-sectional study with data from the National Health Survey conducted in 2019. The prevalence of violence in the last 12 months and respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were estimated according to sociodemographic variables. Crude prevalence ratios were estimated by Poisson regression. The prevalence of exposure to violence among adults in Brazil was 18.3% (95%CI 17.8-18.8), with a significantly higher frequency among women (19.4%; 95%CI 18.7-20.0), in the 18-29 age group (27.0%; 95%CI 25.7-28.4), in self-declared black people (20.6%; 95%CI 19.3-21.9) and mixed race (19.3%; 95%CI 18.6-20.1) and among inhabitants of the Northeast region (18.7%; 95%CI 18.0-19.5). Among the victims of violence, 15.6% (95%CI 14.2-17.0) sought health care, of which (91.2%; 95%CI 88.1-93.6) were attended. The most reported types of violence were: psychological (17.4%; 95%CI 16.9-17.9), physical (4.1%; 95%CI 3.9-4.4) and sexual (0.8%; 95%CI 0.7-0.9). Men were more exposed to violence with the use of firearms or sharp targets, while women were the predominant victims for all other types and mechanisms of violence. The aggressor most cited was the intimate partner, the most frequent place of occurrence of violence being the residence and public streets/places. In Brazil, violence affected one in five adults. Women, young people and people with black skin were the population segments most exposed to violence, which should be a priority in prevention actions.

FORENSIC ASPECTS OF USING CERTAIN TECHNICAL MEANS OF ACTIVE SELF-DEFENSE

The article is devoted to the forensic aspects of ensuring necessary defense through the use by law enforcement officials of physical pressure of limited influence, special means (including non-lethal action) and firearms of increased efficiency. The authors, based on the results of forensic practice, assessed the effectiveness of the actions of law enforcement officers to prevent the excess of necessary defense during covert investigative (search) activities. A systematic analysis of recent studies and publications on this issue showed that in the modern global world, the main task of forensic support for law enforcement agencies in different countries is to optimize the processes of detecting, disclosing, investigating and preventing crimes and therefore contributes to the establishment of objective truth in criminal proceedings. A sufficiently high level of criminalization of various spheres of life of modern society requires deep transformations in the system of preventive measures carried out by law enforcement agencies, government bodies and public organizations. The use of special forensic knowledge, along with other forms of preventive activity, can significantly enhance the prevention, detection, disclosure and investigation of crimes. The preventive activity of forensic experts is to study and identify the causes and conditions conducive to the commission of socially dangerous acts. It is noted that Hungarian scientists consider the issues of crime prevention and operational-search activity to be the subject of forensic science. The international experience of disclosing, investigating and preventing crimes indicates a significant number of unsuccessful investigative actions due to the incompetent use of firearms and active defense equipment. It is concluded, based on the content of the concepts of disclosure, investigation and prevention of crimes, and taking into account the historical experience of forensic research of means of necessary defense and firearms, that it is necessary to develop forensic recommendations. In order to increase the efficiency of covert investigative (search) actions by law enforcement officers through the use of modern means of necessary defense and means of physical influence of limited action, as well as special types of non-lethal police weapons with improved characteristics.

The use of firearms by police officers: a comparative analysis of Russian and foreign legislation

The use of firearms by police officers: a comparative analysis of Russian and foreign legislation

APPLICATION OF FIREARMS AS ONE OF THE MEANS OF COORDINATION BY THE STATE WITHIN THE COMPETENCE OF EMPLOYEES OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

The article considers the main competencies of law enforcement officers who have the right to use firearms, as a force representing the state to maintain law and order, and prevent violations of human rights and security, which allows to determine the levels of possible use of firearms as a form of coercion and influence on civil society, as well as to identify its subjects and objects - to identify all participants in such a process, and the impact on large social groups in order to comply with the rule of law in society.

Право сотрудников полиции и уголовно-исполнительной системы на применение огнестрельного оружия: некоторые вопросы теории и практики

The article is devoted to the analysis of the Federal Law «On the Police» and the law of the Russian Federation «On Institutions and Bodies Executing Criminal Sentences in the Form of Imprisonment», which empowers the police and the penal system with the right to use firearms. Possible problems of the implementation of the provisions of the legislation are identified, specific measures are proposed to improve the efficiency of legal regulation of the use of firearms by police officers and the penal system

Pedagogical techniques of keeping the attention of internal affairs officers during theoretical lectures on firearms training

The article considers the main pedagogical techniques helping to keep the attention and interest of internal affairs officers at theoretical lectures during the period of professional training in educational institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The author studies the peculiarities of the structure of a theoretical lecture on firearms training based on the proposed pedagogical techniques. The article focuses on the main reasons of internal affairs officers&amp;rsquo; performance decrease during theoretical lectures on firearms training and the ways to improve it using motivating and other factors. The author uses the theoretical methods of cognition (analysis, analogy, the system approach, etc.) and develops the main pedagogical techniques aimed at keeping the attention and improving the performance of students during lectures. The author formulates the following conclusions:&amp;nbsp; It is possible to get positive and productive results at theoretical lectures on firearms training if they are structured and have a strong methodological basis Due to particular psychological peculiarities and some physiological reasons, during long-lasting learning activity, attention and concentration of internal affairs officers at theoretical lectures on firearms training can be decreased. Therefore, the author suggests using some pedagogical techniques which help to keep attention during all the lessons. To show the particular examples of integration of these techniques with theoretical lectures on firearms training, the author considers educational issues in their connection with the life experience involving the use of firearms by officers during their service. Besides, the author shows how to develop the interest of students via strong motivation.&amp;nbsp;

The nature of police shootings in New Zealand: A comparison of mental health and non-mental health events

The use of firearms by police in mental health-related events has not been previously researched in New Zealand. This study analysed reports of investigations carried out by the Independent Police Conduct Authority between 1995 and 2019. We extracted data relating to mental health state, demographics, setting, police response, outcome of shooting, and whether the individual was known to police, mental health services, and with a history of mental distress or drug use. Of the 258 reports analysed, 47 (18%) involved mental health-related events compared to 211 (82%) classified as non-mental health events. Nineteen (40.4%) of the 47 mental health events resulted in shootings, compared to 31 (14.8%) of the 211 non-mental health events. Of the 50 cases that involved shootings 38% (n = 19) were identified as mental health events compared to 62% (n = 31) non-mental health events. Over half of the mental health events (n = 11, 57.9%) resulted in fatalities, compared to 35.5% (n = 11) of the non-mental health events. Cases predominantly involved young males. We could not ascertain the ethnicity of individuals from the IPCA reports. Across all shooting events, a high proportion of individuals possessed a weapon, predominantly either a firearm or a knife, and just under half were known to police and had known substance use. Of the 19 mental health events, 47.4% (n = 9) of individuals were known to mental health services and in 89.5% (n = 17) of cases whānau (family) were aware of the individual's current (at the time of the event) mental health distress and/or history. These findings suggest opportunities to prevent the escalation of events to the point where they involve shootings. Lack of ethnicity data limits the accountability of the IPCA and is an impediment to informed discussion of police response to people of different ethnicities, and Māori in particular, in New Zealand.

СУДОВО-БАЛІСТИЧНА РЕКОНСТРУКЦІЯ ПОСТРІЛУ В ЗАЛЕЖНОСТІ ВІД СИТУАЦІЙНИХ ОБСТАВИН... ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ ВОГНЕПАЛЬНОЇ ЗБРОЇ

The article discusses the issue of ballistic reconstruction of a shot depending on the situational circumstances of the use of firearms. The algorithm for determining the place of the shot, the angle of encounter and the line of approach based on gunshot damage, the angle of incidence and the azimuthal angle at the point of encounter of the projectile with an obstacle is highlighted. Forensic recommendations and possibilities of using the device for ballistic reconstruction of the shot, when solving expert tasks to establish the situational circumstances of the shot, are formulated. The design of the device and the materials used for its manufacture are described in detail. New methods of ballistic reconstruction of projectile movement are proposed, using as initial data the signs of gunshot injuries to the human body. The expediency of using the device to reconstruct the movement of a fired projectile even after a change in the situation at the scene of the incident or after the restoration of damaged objects is substantiated. Attention is focused on the condition of limited application of the imaging method. Systematized the most significant factors that affect the trajectory of the bullet after breaking through an obstacle, including: angle of encounter of the projectile with the obstacle, speed of the projectile, properties of the obstacle, structural features of the projectile. It has been proven that the azimuth angle and the angle of incidence are important for fixing in the spatial coordinate system the line of approach of the projectile to determine the possible place of the shot.

Use and Application of Firearms by the Police in the Light of Human Rights Standards in Poland

The article is devoted to the assessment of the rules, possibilities and manners of using and applying firearms by the Police in terms of compliance with human rights. The first part of the study contains analyses focusing on general frames for the use and application of firearms and circumstances giving premises for the use or application of these arms. In the next section, the discussion covers the conduct of law enforcement officials preceding the use of firearms and refers to the question of the so-called special use of firearms. The content of the final part of the article covers mechanisms preventing abuse regarding the use and application of firearms and procedures for situations of breaching legal regulations for the use of such arms. The article closes with the summary where, based on the analyses of existing solutions and available statistical data, a conclusion is made that the Police exercise proper caution so as to ensure the observance of human rights in relation to holding legislative power to use and apply firearms. The key methods applied while preparing this article were the legal analysis and the institutional analysis. In the alternative, a descriptive method with the application of the critical analysis of the literature on the subject was also employed.

Trends and ecological results in suicides among Italian youth aged 10–25 years: A nationwide register study

BackgroundDocumenting current trends and sources of variation in youth suicide rates is critical to inform prevention strategies. We aimed to document suicide mortality trends among Italian youth from 1981 to 2016 and to describe age-, gender- and urbanization-specific suicide rates. MethodsWe used official mortality data for the period 1981–2016 for adolescents and young adults aged 10–25 years. We estimated standardized all-cause and suicide mortality rates per 100,000 individuals and used joinpoint regression analyses to determine annual mortality trends and significant changes in rate trends. Analyses were reported according to gender, age group (10–17 and 18–25 years), urbanization and suicide method. ResultsFrom 1981 to 2016, 1,752 suicides were identified among youth aged 10–17 years (boy/girl ratio of 5.80 in 2016) and 9,897 suicides among youth aged 18–25 years (boy/girl ratio of 3.97 in 2016). Overall suicide rates remained stable for boys and showed a small decrease for girls. Suicide was most common in rural areas for boys and in metropolitan areas for girls. We observed a significant decrease in the use of firearms and poisoning; the most common suicide method was hanging for boys and falls for girls. LimitationsWe did not control for regional-level sociodemographic, economic and health care system characteristics. ConclusionsYouth suicides were either stable (for boys) or slightly declining (for girls). We found differences according to urban versus rural areas, suggesting the need for a broader view of the phenomenon. Factors influencing these trends and gender differences in the geographical areas are important in delivering suicide prevention strategies.

Autopsy as well as Nano-technological Study of a Suicide by Firearm

Background: The case brought to the department was of a 34 years old man, he had a history of alcohol and drug abuse. He had shot himself in the forehead with an unlicensed locally made firearm. The family members were reluctant in giving any further information and said they had no idea why he committed suicide. Case Report: A thorough post-mortem examination was conducted in the Mortuary of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (IMS BHU). Ballistic findings as well as gunshot residue (GSR), were collected to support the claim of suicide. SEM-EDXA was performed on the collected hand swab. Conclusion: It is important to state the manner of death, in any case, to provide justice to the deceased and hold the indictable person accountable. To prevent such suicides by the use of improvised firearms, strict and stringent laws should be formulated on the manufacturing and sales of such firearms.