There are enough guns in private hands to provide every adult in America with one, according to a survey recently released by the Police Foundation. Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and Use, by Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, provides details on the weapons and the demographics of their owners. Of the 192 million privately owned firearms in the United States, 65 million are handguns, 70 million are rifles, and 49 million are shotguns. Most gun owners in the survey were middle-aged, middle-class whites from rural areas. Forty-six percent of gun owners own them for protection against crime, and on any given day, 3 million adults carry a gun either on their person (1 million) or in their car or truck (2 million). To obtain a copy of the report, contact the Police Foundation at 202-833-1460.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics bulletin, Presale Firearm Checks by Don Manson and Gene Lauver, presale background checks on potential handgun buyers required by the Brady Handgun Violence Act have stymied more than 186,000 illegal over-the-counter gun sales during the first 28 months. Of the 9 million applications to purchase firearms submitted from March 1, 1994, through June 30, 1996, an estimated 186,000 were rejected, an average of 6,600 per month. Over 70 percent of the individuals rejected were convicted or indicted felons. While the checks prevented these individuals from purchasing firearms legally, the data do not indicate whether they later obtained firearms through other means. Moreover, this report was written before the recent Supreme Court decision declaring unconstitutional mandatory background checks performed by state law enforcement officers. Until the National Instant Criminal Background Check System becomes operational in 1998, law enforcement agencies may continue to complete background checks voluntarily, and several police organizations have indicated a willingness to do so. Presale Firearm Checks, NCJ 162787, can be obtained by calling the Bureau of Justice Statistics at 202-633-3047 or by accessing "What's new at BJS" on the BJS home page at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

Law enforcement employees and their families face pressures unlike those confronting members of the general population. The organizational structure and culture of police departments, the dangerous nature of police work, budget cuts coupled with high community expectations, and other causes all put tremendous pressure on law enforcement families. Recognizing this, police departments throughout the country are implementing employee assistance programs to deal specifically with stress.

A National Institute of Justice report can help. Developing a Law Enforcement Stress Program for Officers and Their Families, by Peter Finn and Julie Esselman Tomz, examines the nature of law enforcement stress and offers guidance for agencies interested in implementing programs. The comprehensive report includes advice for planning, structuring, funding, and evaluating programs, selecting staff, establishing referral networks, and maintaining confidentiality, as well as tips for reducing the causes of stress within an organization. In addition to the extensive resources used in researching the report, a separate chapter details additional sources of information and referral. Several appendices provide sample documents from programs in place in other departments. For a copy of the report, NCJ 163175, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000, phone 301-251-5500 or 800-851-3420. The report also is available on the Internet at http://www.ncjrs.org.

Whether they seek to link a suspect to a crime, determine criminal behavior patterns, or compile statistics for Uniform Crime Reports, police departments analyze crime data for a variety of reasons. Without an appropriate information management system, however, making sense of the data would prove impossible. The right system also can help investigators manage complex cases, give officers on the street direct access to vital information, allow intelligence-sharing between departments, and keep citizens informed.

A Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) publication, Information Management and Crime Analysis: Practitioners' Recipes for Success, presents an overview of crime analysis and, in individual chapters, provides examples of how different departments have used information technology to accomplish their crime analysis goals. The book is available through PERF at 1120 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 930, Washington, DC 20036, 202-466-7820.

Bulletin Reports, a collection of criminal justice studies, reports, and project findings, is compiled by Kim Waggoner. Send your material for consideration to: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Room 209, Madison Building, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA 22135. (NOTE: The material in this section is intended to be strictly an information source and should not be considered an endorsement by the FBI for any product or service.)