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Firearms “ Crime and Mortality” Annual firearm deaths for the year 2000 were 28,663. (National Center for Health Statistics) (NCH) The surge in the level of violent crime in the United States in the last decade corresponds with a significant rise in firearm usage by the criminal population. During 1994, based on crimes reported to law enforcement agencies, there were 544,880 offenses in the United States in which victims were murdered, robbed or assaulted with firearms, this is 1 out of 3 offenses which involved firearms, as the weapon used. This is 3.9 per 100,000 population in (2000) NCH Weapons statistics have been collected by such organizations as the FBI in their “Uniform Crime Report” (UCR). This has been done since 1970 and serves as a basis for national crime indexing. The National crime index is composed of four violent crimes (murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and three property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). The crime index serves as a measure of the level, and scope of the Nations crime statistics, and is based primarily on population versus crimes reported to law enforcement. Since the time that these facts have been collected the 1990,s has become the decade most prone to firearm use in history for violent crimes studied. The trend in firearm use in murders, robberies and aggravated assaults were similar in pattern after remaining stable, or declining during the period of 1980 to 1985. Firearm-related violent crimes followed an upward trend, with the number of firearm related assaults showing the greatest increase of 76 percent in 1994. According to the U.S.
Approximate Word count = 1076
Approximate Pages = 4.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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