Abstract
Objectives—One way law enforcement officers support firearm safety is by promoting the use of gun locks. This investigation examined law enforcement officers' willingness to use gun locks on their own guns, as well as their opinions regarding gun locks in general.
Setting—Law enforcement officers from an urban agency in the southern region of the United States.
Methods—Free keyed cable gun locks were distributed to all law enforcement officers in one agency who wanted one, and then an anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted about their subsequent use of, and attitudes toward, these devices.
Results—About half of the 207 officers collected gun locks (n=103). Nearly three quarters (73%) completed and returned the questionnaire. Two thirds reported that they were not using the gun lock they collected (65%), and over half disagreed that gun lock use should be required (56%). Very few cited any actual or potential technical problems with the device. An important reason given for non-use of gun locks related to being able to access the weapon quickly in case of an emergency.
Conclusions—The findings highlight the need for further investigation into law enforcement officers' attitudes toward gun locks, the degree to which their attitudes affect their firearm safety counseling, and the need to develop a gun safety device that can be disengaged quickly.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (167.2 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Beaver B. L., Moore V. L., Peclet M., Haller J. A., Jr, Smialek J., Hill J. L. Characteristics of pediatric firearm fatalities. J Pediatr Surg. 1990 Jan;25(1):97–100. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3468(05)80171-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Denno D. M., Grossman D. C., Britt J., Bergman A. B. Safe storage of handguns. What do the police recommend? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996 Sep;150(9):927–931. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1996.02170340041008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Freed L. H., Vernick J. S., Hargarten S. W. Prevention of firearm-related injuries and deaths among youth. A product-oriented approach. Pediatr Clin North Am. 1998 Apr;45(2):427–438. doi: 10.1016/s0031-3955(05)70017-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Grossman D. C., Reay D. T., Baker S. A. Self-inflicted and unintentional firearm injuries among children and adolescents: the source of the firearm. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999 Aug;153(8):875–878. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.153.8.875. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hemenway D., Solnick S. J., Azrael D. R. Firearm training and storage. JAMA. 1995 Jan 4;273(1):46–50. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Krug E. G., Dahlberg L. L., Powell K. E. Childhood homicide, suicide, and firearm deaths: an international comparison. World Health Stat Q. 1996;49(3-4):230–235. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Martin J. R., Sklar D. P., McFeeley P. Accidental firearm fatalities among New Mexico children. Ann Emerg Med. 1991 Jan;20(1):58–61. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(05)81120-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nelson D. E., Grant-Worley J. A., Powell K., Mercy J., Holtzman D. Population estimates of household firearm storage practices and firearm carrying in Oregon. JAMA. 1996 Jun 12;275(22):1744–1748. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schuster M. A., Franke T. M., Bastian A. M., Sor S., Halfon N. Firearm storage patterns in US homes with children. Am J Public Health. 2000 Apr;90(4):588–594. doi: 10.2105/ajph.90.4.588. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Senturia Y. D., Christoffel K. K., Donovan M. Children's household exposure to guns: a pediatric practice-based survey. Pediatrics. 1994 Mar;93(3):469–475. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sinauer N., Annest J. L., Mercy J. A. Unintentional, nonfatal firearm-related injuries. A preventable public health burden. JAMA. 1996 Jun 12;275(22):1740–1743. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Webster D. W., Wilson M. E., Duggan A. K., Pakula L. C. Parents' beliefs about preventing gun injuries to children. Pediatrics. 1992 May;89(5 Pt 1):908–914. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Weil D. S., Hemenway D. Loaded guns in the home. Analysis of a national random survey of gun owners. JAMA. 1992 Jun 10;267(22):3033–3037. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wintemute G. J., Teret S. P., Kraus J. F., Wright M. A., Bradfield G. When children shoot children. 88 unintended deaths in California. JAMA. 1987 Jun 12;257(22):3107–3109. doi: 10.1001/jama.257.22.3107. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]