"self-defense" statistics

[Guest]

not exactly sure how to articulate this...

but i'm looking for stats in which a person used deadly force to defend themselves in california outside of their home.

for example, you shoot to death 5 people who were beating you to a pulp. or you stabbed somebody in a neck (and they die) while they were robbing you at gun point. thanks.

[Librarian]

No one collects that info.

Some individual departments may have that buried in case files (I’d expect the bulk of such to be in LA and San Jose) but those departments are administered by anti gun governments, and good info on self defense gun use ‘does not fit the preferred narrative’.

See also Gary Kleck and his surveys attempting to estimate Defensive Gun Uses (DGU).

[The War Wagon]

P.5 (thereabouts) of every NRA magazine ever published.

[unusedusername]

P.5 (thereabouts) of every NRA magazine ever published.

Those will have anecdotal stories, but a series of anecdotes do not make statistics until you have enough of them for them to become significant.

[Librarian]

Those will have anecdotal stories, but a series of anecdotes do not make statistics until you have enough of them for them to become significant.

There are probably enough of them here - https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/armed-citizen.aspx - but the stories they show seem to be mostly newspaper articles. (CA returns 554 incidents, going back to 1958.)

That's how most people get info to form their impressions, of course, but the stories are not really 'well-formed' to use as specific data. And the NRA source 'poisons' the discussion, even though Brady Campaign seems acceptable; 'preferred narrative' again.

[Watson.M]

Fortunately I didn't have to shoot the guy that chased my wife and I in our house and started to enter our home behind us. He was met with the best equalizer and I told him I will shoot and he left. Cops got him and in his statement the cop said, "you know the homeowner almost shot you" and the guy said "I know, that's why I left". That stat will never be anywhere to be found how an aggravated tresspassing was stopped from turning into something more serious. The CDC's report on someone in the home is more likely to be shot by their own guns is BS. Bad & incomplete data in, horse manure out.

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[Den60]

My CCW instructor once reached for his concealed handgun when he recognized someone approaching him that he had dealings with (as part of his security related employment). The guy ran off. He contacted his IA and they said that since he didn't draw or fire his weapon no report was necessary.

About the only time you will get statistics for defensive use of a firearm is if the firearm was actually fired and the police respond. If you hear something outside in your front yard, driveway or alley and you go out to investigate carrying your firearm, scare off the intruder and report that to police it is you who will likely be cited for carrying/brandishing in public.

[unusedusername]

And the NRA source 'poisons' the discussion, even though Brady Campaign seems acceptable; 'preferred narrative' again.

While generally true of "most" Californian's opinions, this very much bothers when in statistical discussions of firearms.

The other thing that really bothers me is the comparison of "violent crime" numbers across international borders, where the definition of "violent crime" is greatly different in the countries being compared.