Firearm Dealers and Local Gun Violence: A Street Network Analysis of Shootings and Concentrated Disadvantage in Atlanta

• Author: Richard Stansfield,Daniel C. Semenza,Jie Xu,Elizabeth Griffiths
• DOI: 10.1177/00224278221077626
• Published date: 01 August 2022
• Date: 01 August 2022
• Subject Matter: Original Research Articles

Firearm Dealers and

Local Gun Violence:

A Street Network

Analysis of Shootings

and Concentrated

Disadvantage in

Atlanta

Daniel C. Semenza

1

,

Elizabeth Griff‌iths

2

, Jie Xu

3

,

and Richard Stansf‌ield

1

Abstract

Objectives: Examine the spatial relationship between f‌irearm dealers and

shootings in Atlanta. Methods: We combine data from the Atlanta Police

Department (APD), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and

Explosives (ATF), and the American Community Survey (ACS) to conduct

a street network analysis from 2016 through 2018. We employ the

Network Cross K Function to assess whether f‌irearm dealers attract

1

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Camden,

USA

2

School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University, Newark, USA

3

Department of Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and Homeland Security, St. John’s University,

Queens, USA

Corresponding Author:

Daniel Semenza, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, Rutgers

University, Camden, NJ 08102, USA.

Email: Daniel.semenza@rutgers.edu

Original Research Article

Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency

2022, Vol. 59(5) 627–658

© The Author(s) 2022

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00224278221077626

journals.sagepub.com/home/jrc

shootings in the city. We examine whether this spatial relationship differs

by level of concentrated disadvantage in neighborhoods. Results: Without

consideration of concentrated neighborhood disadvantage, f‌irearm dealers

and shootings are spatially unrelated to one another. Tract-level disadvan-

tage inf‌luences the relationship between f‌irearm dealers and shootings

wherein dealers signif‌icantly attract shootings in disadvantaged neighbor-

hoods. Conversely, shootings are located further from gun stores in non-

disadvantaged communities. Shootings related to manslaughter and assault,

but not robbery, are spatially associated with f‌irearm dealers in disadvan-

taged neighborhoods. Conclusions: Building on prior research regarding f‌ire-

arm dealers and gun violence, we f‌ind support for an attraction effect in

disadvantaged neighborhoods for certain types of shootings. We contextu-

alize these f‌indings within a broader discussion of how f‌irearm dealers con-

tribute to the complex ecology of local gun violence. This is impor tant in

light of federal policies and investments related to the prevention of and

response to gun crime.

Keywords

gun violence, f‌irearm dealers, concentrated disadvantage, street networks

Introduction

In the United States (U.S.), f‌irearms are manufactured or imported and sold

directly to the public through federal f‌irearms licensed dealers (FFLs) that

include gun stores, pawn shops, and “big box”stores such as Walmart

and Bass Pro Shops. The journey of a gun from manufacture or import to

the commission of a violent crime can be winding, often making its way

through several transfers via straw purchases, thefts, gifting, and illicit trans-

actions from unlawful gun dealers (Alper and Glaze 2019; Chesnut et al.

2017; Fontanarosa and Wintemute 2000; Webster, Vernick, and Hepburn

2001; Wintemute 2010, 2017). Even so, f‌irearm dealers represent the start-

ing point in the supply chain for the journey of a gun towards the commis-

sion of a crime (Cook and Goss 2020). For this reason, President Biden’s

Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime and

Public Safety (White House 2021) articulates several key measures targeted

at gun dealers and their practices.

Since FFLs are the predominant source for obtaining f‌irearms in the

U.S., researchers have begun to focus on how the presence of f‌irearm

628 Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 59(5)

dealers in communities relates to gun violence. Building on the work of

f‌irearm availability scholars (Braga, Papachristos, and Hureau 2010;

Braga et al. 2012; Cook 2018a; Zimring 1968), it is plausible that gun

stores increase the local availability of f‌irearms, heightening the likeli-

hood that shootings will occur in surrounding areas. Although past

research in this area has been largely correlational, the concentration of

gun dealers corresponds to rates of f‌irearm violence at multiple levels

of the social ecology including counties (Semenza, Stansf‌ield, and

Link 2020; Wiebe et al. 2009), zip codes (Matthay et al. 2021), cities

(Kleck and Patterson 1993; Semenza et al. 2021), neighborhoods

(Steidley, Ramey, and Shrider 2017), and individual retailers (Wintemute,

Cook, and Wright 2005). Yet despite this body of work, no research has

examined how gun stores relate to violence in highly localized micro-spaces.

This is a notable gap in criminological literature because neighborhood gun

stores may increasef‌irearm availability throughnumerous avenues, especially

among individuals embedded in high-risk groups for engaging in violence in

local communities. A greater understanding of how local gun stores are asso-

ciated with proximate violence is particularly timelyas gun crime has risen in

many U.S. cities and policymakers increasingly consider supply-side inter-

ventions, such as cracking down on corrupt, high-risk FFLs (White House

2021).

The present study expands knowledge of f‌irearm availability and gun

violence in two important ways. First, we highlight key theoretical

reasons for how local gun shops can inf‌luence gun violence in proximate

spaces by enhancing the availability of f‌irearms. Given the unique

dynamics of urban gun violence, we discuss how f‌irearm dealers may

f‌it into the complex ecology of local shootings by potentially increasing

straw purchases, becoming targets for break-ins and employee thefts, and

contributing to illicit gun markets via rare yet harmful corrupt dealers.

Second, we enhance the empirical understanding of the relationship

between f‌irearm dealers and neighborhood gun violence by leveraging

three years of shooting data (2016–2018) in Atlanta to examine how

gun store locations relate to shooting incidents along localized street net-

works, distinguishing these inf‌luences across neighborhoods that vary by

concentrated disadvantage. In doing so, we illustrate how the social

context in which gun stores are situated is linked to local patterns of

f‌irearm violence. Following a discussion of the results, we contemplate

the implications for major policy initiatives centered on reducing gun

violence, paying particular attention to opportunities for supply-side pre-

vention efforts.

Semenza et al. 629