The Mass. Weapon Related Injury Surveillance System (WRISS)

GSG

Joined
Jun 18, 2007
Messages
5,825
Likes
564
Feedback: 23 / 0 / 0
Thought this might interest a few people here.

http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/injury_surveillance/wriss_residents_94_07.pdf

Among other gems:

There were a total of 25,847 assault-related gun and sharp instrument injury reports for Massachusetts residents filed with WRISS from 1994 through 2007. Assault-related gun and sharp instrument injury cases are further explored in Section II.
♦ Seventy-five percent of assault-related injury reports were due to sharp instruments,
22% were due to firearms and 2.4% were due to non-powder guns.
 
Wow, about 406 assaults with firearms per year. What an epidemic. [rolleyes]

I wonder how many of them were legally owned firearms?


Eighty-nine percent of assault-related gunshot wound cases reported to WRISS were the result of firearms.

Amazing stat....
 
Last edited:
Amazing stat....
Indeed. I'd sure like to understand how the 11% of assault-related gunshot would cases that were not the result of firearms came about.

Edited to add: maybe they are using the term "firearm" as defined in MGL Chapter 140 Section 121 -- that is, "firearm" effectively means "handgun."
 
Indeed. I'd sure like to understand how the 11% of assault-related gunshot would cases that were not the result of firearms came about.

Edited to add: maybe they are using the term "firearm" as defined in MGL Chapter 140 Section 121 -- that is, "firearm" effectively means "handgun."

Actually if you read further their definition of "gunshot wound" includes wounds from things like painball guns, nail guns, bb guns, etc. So I guess when some contractor accidentally shoots his foot with a nail gun that's considered "gun violence." Lovely.

Here's some good data:
In 1998, the Office of the Attorney General provided new regulations related to the sale, storage, and safety of handguns (940 CMR 16.00).

And then later in the paper:
An overall decrease of gun and sharp instrument injury reports combined (38.1%) occurred between 1994 (N=2,865) and 1998 (N=1,773). While sharp instrument injury reports leveled off from 1999 through 2007, gun injury reports increased 63.8% from 2000 (N=512) through 2007 (N=839).

Sounds like proof that 940 CMR 16.00 missed the mark......
 
Last edited:
Thought this might interest a few people here.
From the report"
Weapon Related Injuries to Massachusetts Residents, 1994-2007 3

There were 12 cities and towns with higher average annual rates of
assault-related GSW cases for the period 2005 - 2007 than the
statewide average annual rate of 9.0 per 100,000 (Table 7).
Those having the highest average annual rates include:
Brockton (40.3 per 100,000) = RED,
Springfield, (35.9 per 100,000) = RED,
Boston (35.6 per 100,000), = RED
Lawrence (28.8 per 100,000) = RED

Very Curious that there's a 100% correlation to Red Towns...
Just additional evidence that the conclusions from John Lott's research in More Guns-Less Crime is spot on target.
 
WRISS is interesting in that gotta look at the train wreck sort of way but ultimately useless because of how they define things (as some of you have already begun to figure out). The CDC data is far better though not always town by town and instead MSA and/or county based so it limits it's usefulness here. All in all, MA has lots of bad data flowing around on the topic and this is why.
 
WRISS is interesting in that gotta look at the train wreck sort of way but ultimately useless because of how they define things (as some of you have already begun to figure out).
As David Kopel said, statistics are like a bikini -- what they reveal is interesting; what they conceal is essential. The statistics in this report seem designed to conceal.
 
Indeed. I'd sure like to understand how the 11% of assault-related gunshot would cases that were not the result of firearms came about.

Edited to add: maybe they are using the term "firearm" as defined in MGL Chapter 140 Section 121 -- that is, "firearm" effectively means "handgun."

Maybe we are dealing with a gang of people that are throwing the bullets!!! That's it we need to ban bullets.
 
As David Kopel said, statistics are like a bikini -- what they reveal is interesting; what they conceal is essential. The statistics in this report seem designed to conceal.
Though even their attempt to conceal fails - their own data damns their legislative philosophy...
 
Only for those who dig. It works for a sound bite, which is all most anyone ever hears.
True...

People keep asking how they are going to cut the budget if the tax is rolled back - dozens of these useless social engineering fishing expeditions could be shut down right away and no one would notice...
 
Indeed. I'd sure like to understand how the 11% of assault-related gunshot would cases that were not the result of firearms came about.

Snake Jailbird was a victim of one of those on the Simpsons.

Snake: Uh I was like walking down the road and I like fell on a bullet, and it rammed itself into my stomach.

[laugh]

All in all, MA has lots of bad data flowing around on the topic and this is why.

State sponsored bad data on the subject.
 
Back
Top Bottom