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More U.S. Adults Carrying Loaded Handguns Daily: Study
The number of U.S. adult handgun owners carrying a loaded handgun on their person doubled from 2015 to 2019, according to new research. S larger proportion of handgun owners carried handguns in states with less restrictive carrying regulation, where approximately one-third of handgun owners reported carrying in the past month.
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This Gun Policy Platform Could Help Reduce Gun Violence by 28%: Researchers
A new report with findings from Tufts University School of Medicine experts proposes policies molded from common ground found between gun owners and non-gun owners.
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Greatest Terrorism Threat to U.S.: Racially Motivated, Anti-Government, Anti-Authority, Domestic Violent Extremists Radicalized Online -- FBI
“The greatest terrorism threat to our Homeland is posed by lone actors or small cells who typically radicalize to violence online and look to attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told Lawmakers. “We see these threats manifested within both Domestic Violent Extremists (“DVEs”) and Homegrown Violent Extremists (“HVEs”), two distinct threats, both of which are located primarily in the United States and typically radicalize and mobilize to violence on their own.”
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The Missing Review of FBI’s January 6 Intelligence and Law Enforcement Failures
Much attention has been paid to the troubling institutional culture among agents at the U.S. Secret Service – agents who, according to Asha Rangappa. sympathized with, and since minimized their advanced knowledge of, the violent assault on the Capitol on January 6. “It is time to focus similar attention on the FBI,” she writes.
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'Aggressive drills' in Response to U.S. School Shootings Can Harm Students
Following an increase in the number of school shootings in the United States, many schools now conduct regular mass-shooting drills for students and faculty. Experts say that these drills, if not properly conducted, needlessly increase student stress and anxiety, leading to lasting psychological damage.
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Panic Buttons, Automatic Locks and Bulletproof Windows Top the Proposed Safety Rules after Uvalde Shooting
These proposed requirements could take effect this school year after the Texas Education Agency takes public comment into consideration.
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Officials Fear Disinformation Could Spark U.S. Election Violence
With just one week to go until the U.S. midterm elections, a key senior U.S. official is expressing concerns that misinformation, or influence operations by U.S. adversaries, could ignite violence at the polls. For weeks, top officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security have said they have found no traces of specific or credible threats to the November 8 vote.
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How Serial Killers Captured Popular Culture
Celebrity, monster, antihero—the serial murderer has many faces in our movies, books, and shows, and we love them all.
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Unexpected Trends in Gun Violence Revealed by Statistical Analysis
Only a handful of U.S. states showed a surge in gun violence incidents in mid-2020 during civil unrest at the start of COVID-19 lockdowns and the murder of George Floyd, a new study finds.
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U.K. Unveils New Counterterror Strategy to Address New Threats
In the U.K. and overseas, there has been a shift towards self-initiated terrorists operating independently from organized groups with increasingly personal ideologies and warped views used to justify violence. The U.K. is updating its counterterrorism system is so it can continually adapt to new and emerging threats.
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An Assessment of the Second U.S. Government Domestic Terrorism Assessment
The recently released intelligence assessment of domestic terrorism is the second iteration of the Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic Terrorism, and Seamus Hughes, Moshe Klein, and Alexis Jori Shanes write that “From additional granularity in the size and scope of the threat of domestic terrorism to a more forthcoming acknowledgement of its complexity, it should provide a road map for U.S. domestic counterterrorism efforts.”
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The Business Case for Reducing Gun Violence
While gun violence in the United States continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, it is also taking a quiet toll on the U.S. economy, according to new research. The research found that the toll of U.S. firearms injuries on the U.S. economy reaches billions of dollars annually.
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Intrusive Surveillance and Interrogation of Portland Demonstrators by DHS Agents
DHS surveillance of 2020 protestors in Portland, Oregon was broader and more intrusive than had previously been knows. DHS agents created individual dossiers on many of the protestors, dossiers which included lists of friends and family, travel history, social media postings, and other records unrelated to securing federal property or homeland security. Documents also reveal that Trump appointees at DHS endorsed baseless conspiracy theories in justifying what Senator Ron Wyden D-Oregon) called “violations of Oregonians’ civil rights.”
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Relaxing Conceal Carry Permit Restrictions Significantly Increases Firearm Assaults
The average rate of assaults with firearms increased an average of 9.5 percent relative to forecasted trends in the first 10 years after 34 states relaxed restrictions on civilians carrying concealed firearms in public. Researchers say that specific provisions in conceal carry laws may reduce risks associated with civilian gun carrying.
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School Shootings Are Already at a Record in 2022 – with Months Still to Go
With more than two months left, 2022 is already the worst year on record. As of Oct. 24, there have been 257 shootings on school campuses – passing the 250 total for all of 2021. Many of these incidents have been simple disputes turned deadly because teenagers came to school angry and armed. The rising annual tally of school shootings has occurred despite enhanced school security in the two decades since the Columbine massacre.
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The long view
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.
Southport Attacks: Why the U.K. Needs a Unified Approach to All Violent Attacks on the Public
The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion in this area, and made clear the need for a basic reframing of how we understand murderous violence against the public today.
Strengthening School Violence Prevention
Violence by K-12 students is disturbingly common. Ensuring that schools have effective ways to identify and prevent such incidents is becoming increasingly important. Expanding intervention options and supporting K-12 school efforts in Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) would help.
Memory-Holing Jan. 6: What Happens When You Try to Make History Vanish?
The Trump administration’s decision to delete a DOJ database of cases against Capitol riot defendants places those who seek to preserve the historical record in direct opposition to their own government.
Evidence-Based Solutions to Protect Against Mass Attacks
Mass attacks like the New Year’s Day incident in New Orleans stir public emotion and have tragic consequences. While the investigations into this case will take time, we know from our work that there are things law enforcement and the public can do to mitigate and perhaps stop mass casualty events.