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Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center |
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This table and chart illustrating
the use of firearms in crime in Alaska are based on UCR data
for Alaska and for the U.S. on the use of firearms in the commission
of the crimes of murder, robbery, and aggravated assault. (Rape
is not included because UCR data do not indicate the weapon used
in commission of rape.) The type of firearm—handgun, rifle,
shotgun, or type unknown—is specified in cases of murder,
but not for robbery or aggravated assault.
Because the National Crime Victimization
Survey (NCVS)—upon which the accompanying article, “Guns
and Crime,” is based—surveys victims, it reflects data
both on crimes reported to the police and those that were not
reported. It does not obtain information on murders. The Uniform
Crime Reporting (UCR) system administered by the FBI includes
only those crimes reported to the police and includes murders.
Hence, comparison between the data presented in this table and
chart and the previous article should
be done cautiously.
Moreover, data on the use of firearms
in violent crime in Alaska should be considered carefully, as
reporting inconsistencies and variation in the number of crimes—particularly
murder—committed from year to year may affect statistical
significance.
