Public Health Association of Australia: Policy-at-a-glance Firearm Injuries Policy

Transcription

1 Public Health Association of Australia: Policy-at-a-glance Firearm Injuries Policy Key message: PHAA advocates that 1. The Commonwealth, in conjunction with State and Territory governments, should address the identified risk factors for intentional injury, recognising in particular the need: for preventive mental health services (including suicide prevention); for greater efforts to prevent domestic violence; to develop initiatives to support men s health and wellbeing; and to address motivations for firearm use in violent crime. 2. Governments should also investigate means through which firearms enter the illegal market in Australia, placing particular emphasis on understanding means through which firearms used in homicides and other violent crimes are obtained. Summary: In 2010, there were 236 registered deaths related to firearms in Australia. Suicide accounted for the majority (68.6%) of the deaths and assault for 12.7%. 6.8% were accidental and 11.9 % were of undetermined intent. Reductions in firearm related deaths can be achieved through the combined use of a range of strategies, including regulatory frameworks, education, comprehensive suicide prevention programs, accessible social and health services, and targeted crime reduction efforts. The greatest potential to reduce firearm related deaths in Australia lies in the prevention of suicides. Audience: Federal, State and Territory Governments, policy makers and program managers. Responsibility: PHAA s Injury Prevention Special Interest Group (SIG). Date policy adopted: September 2012 Contacts: Richard Franklin & Patsy Bourke, Co-Convenors, Injury Prevention SIG richard.franklin@jcu.edu.au; patsy.bourke@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au 1

2 Firearms Injuries Policy See also related policies on: Mental Health; Domestic and Family Violence; Health Inequities; Illicit Drugs and Alcohol. The Public Health Association of Australia notes that: 1. In 2010, there were 236 registered deaths related to firearms in Australia 1. Firearm related deaths accounted for 2.6 per cent of total deaths from external causes (n=8,918) 1, which includes all injury types (including suicides and assaults) a. 2. In 2010, there were 2,359 recorded suicides in Australia; 162 (6.9 per cent) involved firearms. In 2010, there were 217 deaths due to assault; 30 of these (13.8 per cent) involved firearms Suicide accounted for the majority (68.6 per cent) of the 236 firearm related deaths, and assault for 12.7 per cent of firearm related deaths; there were 16 deaths (6.8 per cent) recorded as unintentional (i.e., accidental discharge of firearms), with 28 deaths (11.9 per cent) of undetermined intent Most firearm deaths involve males. In 2010, nine out of 10 firearm deaths involved males (213 out of 236 firearm deaths, or 90.3 per cent); the standardised firearmdeath rate for males was 1.9 per 100,000 relevant population, and for females the standardised rate was 0.3 per 100,000 relevant population Although firearm suicides have been declining since the 1980s 2, suicide remains the most commonly occurring type of firearm related death, for both males and females. The next most common type of firearm related death is assault (homicide), for both males and females There are age differences in firearm suicide rates. Although suicide rates among middle aged and older Australians have decreased since the 1980s, older people are more likely to use firearms, compared to younger persons. Since the mid 1980s, firearm suicide rates have typically been highest, on average, among persons aged 70 and over Firearm death rates remain higher in rural and remote regions than in urban areas, reflecting the higher overall rates of suicide in rural and remote regions In 2010, the majority of firearm suicides (76.5 per cent) involved a rifle or shotgun (124 out of 162 firearm suicides), followed by other/unspecified firearms (21 a Australian Bureau of Statistics Causes of Death data are subject to revision. Suicide and homicide data for 2010 are preliminary only, and expected to rise. 2

3 suicides, or 13.0 per cent) and handguns (17 deaths, or 10.5 per cent of all firearm suicides) In 2010, firearms represented 23 out of 145 male assault-related deaths (16.8 per cent), and 7 out of 72 female assault-related deaths (9.7 per cent) Over the period 2000/2001 to 2007/2008, on average, 91 per cent of firearms used to commit homicide were unregistered, and 88 per cent of offenders unlicensed Of firearm homicides in 2005/2006, 35% occurred between friends and acquaintances, and a further 26% between intimate partners. Fewer than 7% involved strangers There is a lack of up to date, published information about the incidence of firearms use in intimate partner violence in Australia, and the legal status of those firearms. 13. While firearm related homicides have been declining since the 1980s 1,12,13, the proportion of firearm homicides involving handguns (which for reporting purposes includes illegally shortened or sawn off firearms) has increased Firearm laws are the responsibility of state governments. Since 1996 all jurisdictions subscribe to the 10 point National Agreement on Firearms (NAF), instituted through the Australian Police Ministers Council. Key resolutions included banning military style automatic and semi-automatic firearms, introducing registration for all firearms, tightening licensing procedures, implementing stricter storage requirements, and requiring all sales to be conducted by or through licensed firearms dealers. As a result of the NAF, approximately 660,000 firearms were surrendered under the Commonwealth Government funded firearms buyback scheme. 15. Subsequent government action has included the National Handgun Agreement (NHA) and the National Firearms Trafficking Policy Agreement (NFTPA), both agreed to in These Agreements were implemented through changes to state and territory firearms legislation to further strengthen their regulatory frameworks; the NHA increased licensing requirements for handgun ownership, prohibited various handguns, and included an additional buyback scheme for those handguns. A number of peer-reviewed studies have evaluated the impacts of the 1996 buyback scheme and legislative changes. None of those studies has found statistical evidence for an impact of the legislative changes on firearm homicide 14,15,19,20,23,24. There are inconsistent findings regarding impacts of the legislative changes on firearm suicide, with some studies finding an effect and other studies finding little or no impact 14-22, 24. The Public Health Association of Australia believes that: 16. Firearm injuries occur due to a combination of the availability of/access to firearms (legal and illegal), motivation for use and community attitudes, as well as broader social, environmental, and economic factors. 17. Reductions in firearm related deaths can be achieved through the combined use of a range of strategies, including regulatory frameworks, education, comprehensive 3

4 suicide prevention programs, accessible social and health services, and targeted crime reduction efforts The greatest potential to reduce firearm related deaths in Australia, particularly among males, lies in the prevention of suicides. For females, in addition to suicide prevention efforts, there is value in ensuring that perpetrators of intimate partner/interpersonal violence, do not possess firearms. 19. Firearms are a highly lethal suicide method; evidence suggests that persons who use firearms to enact suicide may select this method because they have a strong intent to die. This highlights the importance of early identification of suicidal behaviour, and intervention prior to a crisis point where a person at high risk of suicide may whether impulsively or after ongoing planning try to take their own life. The Public Health Association of Australia resolves that: 20. A range of programs is required to address the risk factors for intentional and unintentional use of firearms in injury, including community education and targeted strategies to enforce licensing and secure storage, as well as broader social services and programs aimed at suicide prevention, and efforts to reduce driving factors for illicit firearm use and firearm violence (such as social exclusion, socioeconomic inequalities, substance abuse and the illicit drug trade). 21. The design of such programs should be informed by robust scientific evidence, be closely targeted to groups most at risk, and be subject to rigorous evaluation. 22. Ongoing effort and the investment of resources by Commonwealth, State and Territory governments is required to improve the quality, availability and dissemination of data to inform firearms injury prevention in Australia, including: - where possible, information on death certificates should include the type of firearm used, as per World Health Organisation ICD-10 categories. - where possible, making information recorded by police about the type of firearm used in crimes, and the legal status of that firearm, available for the purposes of statistical reporting, research, and other dissemination. - publishing information about the source/s of firearms used in crimes. - publishing statistics around firearm-related injury cases presenting to hospitals. - establishing a nationally consistent template for recording firearm theft and reviewing historical theft data to improve its accuracy. - reviewing current processes and systems for registering firearms to increase the accuracy and quality of those data. - publishing information on the legal status of firearms used in domestic homicides (is the perpetrator licensed? Is the firearm registered?), to inform policy responses to partner violence. The Public Health Association of Australia through the Injury Prevention Special Interest Group in collaboration with National Office and State and Territory Branches - advocates that: 23. Recognising the need for appropriate and cost-effective investment of resources, the Commonwealth, in conjunction with State and Territory governments, should address the risk factors for intentional injury, recognising in particular: 4

5 - the need for preventive mental health services to reduce suicide through training programs around recognition and referral of those at risk of suicide for the general public, as well as professionals in fields such as education, nursing, medicine and law enforcement. - the need to adequately fund support, treatment and rehabilitation programs for people who are at risk of suicide. - the need to improve access to affordable services and ongoing support for people at risk of suicide in non- metropolitan locations. - the need to for appropriately designed, targeted suicide prevention services for older Australians. - the need for greater efforts to prevent domestic violence in all its forms. - the need to develop initiatives to support men s health, wellbeing, and participation in society. - the need to address motivations for firearm use in violent crime. 24. The Commonwealth, in conjunction with State and Territory governments should: - Investigate means through which firearms enter the illegal market (both grey and black markets) in Australia, including but not necessarily limited to illegal import, theft (from private owners, businesses, military, police, and security agencies), illegal manufacture, diversion from the legal market, and illegal re-activation of deactivated firearms, placing particular emphasis on understanding means through which firearms used in homicides and other violent crimes are obtained. References 1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012). Causes of Death, Australia Catalogue number Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra. 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2010). General Record of Incidence of Mortality (GRIM) Books. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Canberra. 3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2010). A snapshot of men s health in regional and remote Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare: Canberra. 4. Mouzos, J. (2002). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 5. Mouzos, J. (2003). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 6. Mouzos, J., & Segrave, M. (2004). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 7. Mouzos, J. (2005). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 8. Mouzos, J., & Houliaris, T. (2006). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 5

6 9. Davies, M., & Mouzos, J. (2007). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 10. Dearden, J., & Jones, W. (2008). Homicide in Australia: National Homicide Monitoring Program annual report. Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. 11. Custom data tables. AIC NHMP computer file. Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. 12. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009). Causes of Death, Australia Catalogue number Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra. 13. National Injury Surveillance Unit. Injury Deaths Australia: Interactive database. National Injury Surveillance Unit: South Australia Baker, J., & McPhedran, S (2007). Gun laws and sudden death: Did the Australian firearms legislation of 1996 make a difference? British Journal of Criminology, 47: Chapman, S., Alpers, P., Agho, K., & Jones, M. (2006). Australia s 1996 gun law reforms: faster falls in firearm deaths, firearm suicides, and a decade without mass shootings. Injury Prevention, 12: De Leo, D., Dwyer, J., Firman, D., & Neulinger, K. (2003). Trends in hanging and firearm suicide rates in Australia: substitution of method? Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 33(2): De Leo, D., Evans, R., and Neulinger, K. (2002), Hanging, firearm, and non-domestic gas suicides among males: a comparative study. Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Psychiatry, 36: Klieve, H., Barnes, M., & De Leo, D. (2009). Controlling firearms use in Australia: Has the 1996 gun law reform produced the decrease in rates of suicide with this method? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 44: Lee, W-S, & Suardi, S. (2010). The Australian firearms buyback and its effect on gun deaths. Contemporary Economic Policy, 28(1): Leigh, A., & Neill, C. (2010). Do gun buybacks save lives? Evidence from panel data. American Law and Economics Review, 12(2): McPhedran, S., & Baker, J. (2008). Recent Australian Suicide Trends for Males and Females at the National Level: Has the Rate of Decline Differed? Health Policy, 87: McPhedran, S., & Baker, J. (2012). Suicide Prevention and Method Restriction: Evaluating the Impact of Limiting Access to Lethal Means among Young Australians. Archives of Suicide Research, 16:

7 23. McPhedran, S., Baker, J., & Singh, P. (2011). Firearm homicide in Australia, Canada and New Zealand: What can we learn from long-term international comparisons? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(2): Ozanne-Smith, J, K. Ashby, S. Newstead, V.Z. Stathakis, and A. Clapperton. (2004). Firearm related deaths: the impact of regulatory reform. Injury Prevention 10, pp Vos, T., Carter, R., Barendregt, J., Mihalopoulos, C., Veerman, J.L., Magnus, A., Cobiac, L., Bertram, M.Y., & Wallace, A.L. (2010). Assessing Cost-Effectiveness in Prevention (ACE Prevention): Final Report. University of Queensland, Brisbane and Deakin University, Melbourne. 26. Williams, S., & Poynton, S. (2006). Firearms and violent crime in New South Wales, Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice, 98, 108. ADOPTED 2012 Adopted at the Public Health Association of Australia's Annual General Meeting in September