- Nick Penzenstadler
- Matt Drange
- Kim Smith
Shotspotter? Federal Firearms Licenses? Trace data? We’ll help you sort out what data and documents you should routinely gather for reporting on guns, where you’re wasting your time and when it’s time to build from the ground up. We’ll cover common pitfalls and how to accurately cover the gun industry, firearm violence and regulatory agencies. You’ll leave with: sample data on guns, tips on finding sources and tips on reliable data streams.
Kim Smith
Helps out all of Chicago
Gun trace report 2017
Fiiling in missing data:
ATF trace data: 1st retail sale.
Data on transfers: Ethnographics interviews; jail survey.
Recovered gun: Police admin data
Did prison/jail surveys of gun offenders.
How do prohibited possessors acquire guns?
Not gun shows, internet or theft, according to their data. Caveat: Only applies to person convicted; intermediaries may have.
Gun violence in Chicago 2016 report
"synthetic control" to figure out if gun violence interventions are working.
Matt Drange
Know what the agency can see on its end: Wav files and location
Type,ID,Date,Time,Address,Round,CAD,Beat
PD might say shotspotter owns the data, but ownership may not affect what's public
Nick Penzenstadler
FFL lists available from ATF.
From FOIA: Inspection history, violations, narrative, corrective action. 10,000 inspections in 2011, 71 revocations.
Some FFLs get shut down, transfer their license, then reopen cleanly.
Tiahrt amendment means trace data is hard to get.
Background checks, NCIC and NICS
Matt Drange
Building your own dataset.
Manually: Armslist or Facebook.
What's the scope of your universe? Zero in. Be transparent with the limits of your data.
"Sometimes getting a bunch of really bad examples is enough."
Know the jargon before you start collecting data. (Searching "AR-15" on ebay won't get you much, but searching the barrel diameter might)
Data sources on gun violence
Kim Smith (KS): CDC WISQARS is comprehensive. Non-fatal shootings hard to track over time.
Gun violence archive
Harrassed for joining gun groups on Facebook?
Matt Drange (MD): Yes.
Demographic info on gun ownership?
None, really.
What makes a gun illegal?
Someone having one who isn't supposed to. In Illinois, FOID Card is required.
The Trace made gun tracking data they collected available.
Gun buyback programs?
Not much data.
Spikes in gun sales after shootings?
May be available to county level. Probably only numbers though.
What public records are available?
Inspections of FFL. DOJ does it in California.
Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter on USA TODAY's investigative team based at the paper's Denver bureau. @npenzenstadler
Matt Drange is a staff writer at Forbes magazine, where he reports on Donald Trump's business dealings. Before joining Forbes in 2016, Matt worked at The Center for Investigative Reporting, covering technology and guns. He joined IRE as a student in 2010. Matt's proposal to allow student members of IRE to vote for the Board of Directors was adopted by membership in 2015. @mattdrange or #FOIAFriday hashtag.
Kim Smith is a Sr. Research Manager at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, where she manages the multi-city gun markets project, work done in partnership with affiliates in six major U.S. cities – Chicago, LA, Boston, NY, Baltimore, and New Orleans. Kim also provides implementation support to a Chicago Police Department initiative that brings together police officers and analysts from the Crime Lab to integrate crime intelligence, data analysis, and technology.
Description and speakers from official schedule