EMBARGOED UNTIL 5 P.M. NIJ FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 1997 (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 FIRST STUDY INDICATES A DECLINE IN CRIMINAL USE OF ASSAULT WEAPONS More Time Needed to Assess Long-Term Impact WASHINGTON, DC -- According to a study of short-term trends since the 1994 assault weapons ban became law, the ban may be linked to declines in the criminal use of assault weapons, violent crime and the number of enforcement officers killed by assault weapons. The study, prepared by the Urban Institute for the Justice Department's National Institute of Justice (NIJ), was required by statute to be conducted within 30 months following the enactment of the assault weapons ban as part of President Clinton's 1994 Crime Act. The report's authors warned that more time was needed to determine the long-term impact of the ban. The assault weapons ban prohibits the manufacture, transfer and possession of designated semiautomatic assault weapons. Also prohibited are "large-capacity" magazines -- ammunition feeding devices designed to hold more than 10 rounds. Weapons included are Aks, UZIs, AK-15 rifles, TECs and MA handguns. The assault weapons ban took effect on September 13, 1994. During the course of the 18 month study, Urban Institute researchers identified and examined several key indicators, including the use and consequences of assault weapons in crime. Researchers examined the number of times law enforcement agencies across the country requested that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms trace the origins of assault weapons seized by local law enforcement. Initial examinations of trace requests showed a 20 percent drop in requests for assault weapons compared to an 11 percent drop in such requests for all guns. States with no assault weapons ban when the federal ban took effect also experienced a 10.3% decline in homicides, compared to no decline (0.1%) in states with assault weapons bans. It also appears that only one police officer is known to have been killed with an assault weapon during the period from June 1995 to May 1996, compared to seven from January to May 1995, and nine in 1994. The report concluded that the legislatively mandated review period was both too short and too close to the beginning of the assault weapons ban to adequately judge the ban's effect on street violence. The 1994 law applies only to weapons manufactured after the enactment, requiring any attempt to study the ban to factor in the large number of "grandfathered" weapons, many of which were manufactured and purchased prior to the enactment of the ban. These "grandfathered" weapons continue in circulation. The report, "Impact Evaluation of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act of 1994," was written by Jeffrey A. Roth of the Urban Institute and Christopher S. Koper of the University of Maryland. Information about NIJ, its programs and publications, may be obtained from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service by calling toll-free 1-800/851-3420, or by visiting the NCJRS home page on the Internet at http://www.ncjrs.gov/. NIJ's home page on the Internet is http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/. ### 97-130