State's firearm-relinquishment effort sees gains

Study saw drops in volume and severity of committed crimes involving people subject to domestic violence protection orders.

Bolstered by a new risk-reduction unit, Washington state’s firearm-relinquishment law for individuals subject to a domestic violence protection order significantly reduced the volume and severity of committed crimes, according to a new study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice. 

“In addition to preventing harm to survivors and their families, DVPO-related firearm dispossession has helped to reduce crimes more broadly,” said Alice Ellyson, the paper’s lead author. She is an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the director of policy at the Center for Firearm Injury Prevention. 

Key findings:

• Even though firearms were not relinquished in every relevant case, enhanced implementation of the law led to a 27% reduction in crime over 24 months of follow-up. 
• In parallel, the severity of committed crimes dropped 20%. 
• Crime reduction was seen even in cases involving the additional risks of stalking or substance use by individuals restrained by court orders and among individuals prohibited from owning a firearm because of a prior criminal history. 

The study analyzed more than 6,000 domestic violence protection orders issued in King County before and after the creation of a regional unit in 2018 to investigate high-risk firearm cases and ensure compliance with relinquishment laws. 

The unit’s goal is to uphold court orders that remove individuals’ access to firearms, thereby reducing harm to people seeking protection. Arrest data was used as a proxy for crime. 

Domestic violence accounts for 21% of all violent crime in the United States, with intimate partners responsible for more than 65% of these incidents. 

“Our findings underscore the value of state legislators’ efforts to adequately carry out firearm prohibition and relinquishment policies,” Ellyson said. “Meaningful crime reduction didn’t require perfect enforcement or compliance.” 

Federal law prohibits individuals restrained by a protection order from possessing a firearm, but there is no national mechanism to ensure that those individuals no longer have firearms. 

Sandra Shanahan, the enforcement unit’s program manager, conveyed the daunting nature of that task. 

“Prior to the unit’s work, there seemed to be paralysis around the fact relinquishment may not be possible in every case and with every restrained person. Along the way, we learned that small adjustments could enhance compliance — like changing forms to ask the protected person about the restrained person’s firearm access and possession, making the relinquishment process easier, and having judicial officers and law enforcement deliver clear and explicit compliance expectations to the restrained person. These tactical changes reduced risks to survivors and communities.” 

Previous research has found that violent acts against intimate partners tends to be part of a broader pattern of crime. Coordinated work by local agencies can help reduce fatal and nonfatal violence.  

“This new study is the latest confirmation that the Regional Domestic Violence Firearms Enforcement Unit is saving lives and reducing overall crime in our community,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion. “That is great news for public safety, and an encouraging signal that this innovative partnership, which was the first of its kind in the country, is making a difference for survivors of gender-based violence in King County.”

This study was co-authored by Avanti Adhia, UW assistant professor of nursing, and Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, director of the Center for Firearm Injury Prevention and professor at the UW schools of Medicine and Public Health. Their work was supported by funding from the State of Washington, and partial support was provided by grants awarded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2C HD042828) to the University of Washington. 

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