The first Italian research on murders committed with weapons legally held was presented today, entitled Security and legality: weapons in the homes of Italians. The purpose of the study is to verify the consistency of the phenomenon, collecting certain data and analyzing them, to understand the underlying mechanisms and determine the strategies to possibly raise the level of safety.
The data collected cover 11 years, from 2007 to 2017, and depict a limited phenomenon: only about 5% of the murders are committed with weapons legally detained, and of these about 12% consist of acts of euthanasia, carried out with the intent to alleviate the suffering of the victim. 68% of the events are family homicides, and in almost half of the cases the killer committed suicide.
The research revealed that in more than 45% of the cases there were critical issues that could have made us imagine the danger of a homicide: in 5,6% of the cases the killer had been the subject of complaints or public warnings. security, and in one case even a TSO. In 22% of cases the murderer had indicative behaviors (mistreatment, acts of physical or verbal violence, etc.) while in over 15% of cases he showed significant psychological problems (depression, paranoia, etc.). Not to be underestimated are the economic difficulties, present in over 15% of cases, which have sometimes been the trigger for particularly bloody events.
"Despite the heated controversy about it - comments Professor Paolo De Nardis, curator of the research - only 2,45% of the murders covered by our scientific analysis occurred due to over-defense. A fact that downsizes the discussion on legitimate defense and which actually concerns very few cases".
An important new element is the fact that among gun holders the number of homicides is 20% lower than the general population, and the recent increase in firearms licenses has been accompanied by a decrease in events.
"The keeper control system is obviously effective - concluded De Nardis - even if there are always possible prospects for improvement, and in particular the establishment of a monitoring model which, through specific alerts, solicits a check on the subjects deserving more attention ".
For information and registration:
Dr. Romina Gurashi
Sapienza University of Rome