http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/article2942.html

Feb 1, 2006

By Howard Nemerov

Table Data

 

Analysis of Table Data
There were 120 suspensions and revocations during the last three quarters of 2004, an average of 40 per quarter. This number was annualized to 160, in order to compare licensee data to Ohio 2004 arrest data for the entire year, as tabulated in Table 1 to determine relative rates of criminality between the two populations.

For the entire year of 2004, there were 42,825 arrests in Ohio for alleged commissions of the major FBI crime categories listed in Table 3. Assuming that all 160 concealed carry licensees committed crimes falling under these categories, we compute that licensees are 36% more law-abiding than the general population.

Next, we must place a price tag on crime: how much each incident costs the state of Ohio. In 1996, the Department of Justice came out with a report entitled Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look, where they calculated how much each type of crime victimization cost society in terms of medical, emotional, social, and work-related costs. Their cost estimates were based upon 1993 dollars, so Table 2 recalculates each crime category to reflect 2004 dollar values.

As shown in Table 3, the total bill for the state of Ohio––for only these seven crime categories––was over $3.7 billion just for the year 2004. Assuming the worst-case scenario, that all concealed carry licensees are felonious criminals, the state would have realized a savings of over $1.3 billion. This is equivalent to the funds necessary to run both Ohio’s Special Education programs and School Food Services for Fiscal Year 2006-2007.[8]

However, this is the worst-case scenario for concealed carry licensees, based upon available information. Reality lies somewhere else, as licensees may lose their license based upon many other criteria. For example, a license can be suspended “if the licensee is the subject of a protection order issued by a court.”[9] (This does not necessarily mean the licensee is guilty of making, or even considering, a threat or violent action.) There are new crime categories specific to concealed carry licensees, which can result in suspension or revocation, such as using a weapon while intoxicated.[10] A license will be revoked if the licensee knowingly carries a concealed handgun into unauthorized places.[11] There are misdemeanor offenses which may result in suspension or revocation that are not necessarily included in the FBI crime categories.[12] Many of these violations may end up being “victimless,” in that only the doer suffers consequences from their actions.

In order to better determine the true overall ratio of criminality, one can compare licensee suspension and revocation rates to the overall arrest rate of the general population. Calculating this, we find that the general population gets arrested nearly ten times as often as concealed carry licensees experience suspension or revocation––which might not include arrest––for any reason. Extrapolating this ratio across the FBI crime categories, we find that if the general population were as law-abiding as concealed carry licensees, Ohio would have realized a net savings of over $3.3 billion in 2004 alone. This is one-third of Ohio’s entire Fiscal Year 2006-2007 education budget.[13]

In fairness, without more detailed information, the actual cost savings most likely lies somewhere between the two estimates. But it should not be surprising that concealed carry licensees are more law-abiding than the general population: they must undergo proper firearms safety training, and they must be certified via a criminal history background check that they are sufficiently law-abiding to be entrusted with such responsibility.

 

Persons who apply for a license are required to undergo a criminal history background check to ensure that they are not prohibited by law from carrying a concealed handgun. For persons who have lived in Ohio for five years or more, the sheriff submits the applicant’s fingerprints electronically to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for an in-state criminal background check. Applicants who have lived in Ohio fewer than five years are required to undergo a national check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[14]