Police and Security, Vol. 34 No. 2, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.59245/ps.34.2.1
Relation between Firearms Availability and Homicides Committed by Firearms in the Republic of Croatia
Nikola Melnjak
; Zagreb Police Administration, Organised Crime Department, Zagreb, Republic of Croatia.
Dean Savić
; University of Applied Sciences in Criminal Investigation and Public Security, Police Academy - Prvi hrvatski redarstvenik, Ministry of the Interior, Zagreb, Republic of Croatia
Abstract
The availability of firearms is a significant social and security problem due to its association with violent outcomes, especially homicides. This research analysed the relationship between the availability of firearms and firearm homicides by county in the Republic of Croatia and estimated that in Croatia, there are 2,15 times more illegal firearms than registered firearms (595 000 versus 276 000). In addition to data on registered firearms, the indicators of firearm availability can also include firearm suicide rates and the share of firearm suicides in the total number of suicides. Therefore, data on firearm suicides were also analysed. The firearm suicide rate and the registered firearm rate were positively correlated (r = 0,85, p = 0.00) and were both positively correlated with the firearm homicide rate (r = 0,57, p = 0,01; r = 0,49, p = 0,03), confirming a statistically significant correlation between gun availability and firearm homicides. The positive correlation between firearm homicide and suicide rates can be explained by the fact that the firearm suicide rate is a good indicator of gun availability. Since firearm suicides are mostly committed with illegal weapons, the suicide rate proved to be a better variable in explaining the variation in the firearm homicide rate compared to the registered firearm rate.
Keywords
firearm availability; firearm homicides; firearm suicides; illegal weapons; assessment of illegal weapon availability
Hrčak ID:
331944
URI
Publication date:
18.7.2025.
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