Project Insight Research Report: Lethal and Non-lethal Firearm Violence in the European Union

Most firearm violence in the European Union (EU) is non-lethal, with many threats or shootings with firearms not resulting in a physical injury.

Firearm homicides cannot be used as a proxy for firearm violence as a whole, given differences in the trends and characteristics of lethal and non-lethal types of firearm violence.

The reliable, systematic, and comparable recording of incidents of non-lethal firearm violence is lacking across and within EU countries. Such measures are essential for furthering knowledge on the phenomenon of firearm violence, as well as for targeted and effective policymaking on this pressing issue.

Public health and criminology research on non-lethal firearm violence in Europe continues to reference studies conducted in the United States, where the social and economic context of gun violence is unique. Furthermore, European-focused studies would provide European policymakers with more relevant information.

Katharina Krüsselmann is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University. Her research focuses on the impact of firearms on the prevalence and nature of violence in Europe. In that context, she set up the Dutch Firearm Violence Monitor, tracking shootings in the Netherlands since 2018.