Effectiveness of Gun Buyback Programs

 

Have U.S. Gun Buyback Programs Misfired?

Toshio Ferrazares, Joseph J. Sabia & D. Mark Anderson

WORKING PAPER 28763

DOI 10.3386/w28763

ISSUE DATE May 2021

REVISION DATE December 2022

Gun buyback programs (GBPs), which use public funds to purchase civilians' privately-owned firearms, aim to reduce gun violence. However, next to nothing is known about their effects on firearm-related crime or deaths. Using data from the National Incident Based Reporting System, we find no evidence that GBPs reduce gun crime. Given our estimated null findings, with 95 percent confidence, we can rule out decreases in firearm-related crime of greater than 1.1 percent during the year following a buyback. Using data from the National Vital Statistics System, we also find no evidence that GBPs reduce suicides or homicides where a firearm was involved. These results call into question the efficacy of city gun buyback programs in their current form.