We’re reducing gun violence the wrong way, Bristol County sheriff warns

Gun violence hit our region again. Recently at Brown University, and yesterday when a father killed family members in Pawtucket at a hockey arena, which abuts Bristol County and is about two miles from where I live. Both of these recent local shootings made national headlines. 

Gun violence is the leading cause of death among youth today. We also hear about mass shootings from someone trying to make a statement, to shootings that don’t make any sense or target limited people. We hear about school shootings but rarely hear about a gang related shooting because it is so common. 

With all the carnage, we are still going about reducing gun violence all wrong.

For example, the folks on the left say with fewer or no guns we will have fewer or no more gun crimes – this isn’t a realistic solution since we are always going to have guns as guns are part of our society and part of a culture of responsible gun owners.

The folks on the right say with more guns we will have good people with guns ready to stop bad people with guns – this ignores the fact that where there are more guns, there are more accidents from guns, and where there is easier access to guns, there are more opportunities for gun violence. 

Both sides say that mental illness is a cause of gun violence, but in doing so, the mental illness argument misses the other causes of gun violence that have nothing to do with mental illness.

Despite thinking that they are keeping people safe, both extremes of this issue argue from what is in their own political interest. This is why shootings will continue.

What Drives Our Gun Crime Rates?

Let’s think of the medical model of illness. Different illnesses, different remedies. Think of gun crimes like a disease. We treat different disease differently, so we treat the different types of gun violence differently.

What Actually Works to Reduce Gun Violence?

If crime is like a disease in a community, there needs to be a correct diagnosis and then a specific remedy (as opposed to a one-size-fits-all remedy.)

On a micro level, when addressing gun violence by people with mental illness, we need to be mindful of the warning signs. These include a history of violence, anger issues, easy access to firearms, being bullied, feeling resentful, and the desire to make a statement to name a few. Identifying these leads to early prevention. This isn’t a program. It’s vigilance.

These are peer reviewed interventions published in academic journals that we know are effective – if applied correctly in the right context.

The way to reduce school shootings is different than inner city gun violence in neighborhoods. For example, we reduce school shootings through target hardening to make it more difficult for a shooter to enter or move about freely in a school; gunshot detections systems to make sure that the police know about a shooting the moment it happens so they can respond immediately, reduce response time, and save lives; active shooter drills; and watching for the warning signs of festering anger in a student, to name a few things.

The way to reduce accidental gun shootings is unlike reducing gang shootings or school shootings. To reduce accidental gun shootings, proper training and storage of guns is critical.

This is a summary of what can be done to reduce gun violence. 

There is another critical element that we are missing in this debate and that is that we are a very violent society. We enjoy watching violence on TV and in movies, playing it in video games and listening to it in music. We pay money to have access to simulated violence in these mediums. Politics may well be a part of the problem of the increase in mass public shootings, but politics has always been with us. What is new is the availability of learning through media and social media about the reactions of others who have political grievances. It is reasonable to surmise that the recent increase in public mass shootings is the result of copy-cat crimes. Until we address our obsession with violence, we are going to continue to be a violent society.

There is no way to stop all gun violence. We need to stop with the one-size-fits-all approach. The different types of gun violence require different solutions tailored to the specific type of gun violence. 

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Paul Heroux is the sheriff of Bristol County, was mayor of Attleboro, and was a state representative who served on the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. Paul has a master’s in criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s in public administration from Harvard.

Follow him on Facebook here.