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The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
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"One With A Gun Gets You Two": Mandatory Sentencing and Firearms Violence in Detroit

Colin Loftin

David Mcdowall

Mandatory sentences for crimes committed with a gun are a popular policy because they promise a reduction in gun violence at a relatively low cost. In this article we present some results of a study of the implementa tion of such a law in Detroit, Michigan. Two major questions are discussed: (1) what effect did the Michigan gun law have on the certainty and severity of sentences; and (2) did the gun law reduce the number of serious violent crimes in Detroit? We find that, although the law required a two-year mandatory sentence for felonies committed with a gun and the prosecutor followed a strict policy of not reducing the gun law charge, there was little change in the certainty or severity of sentences that could be attributed to the effects of the gun law. Only in the case of assault was there a significant change in the expected sentence. Also serious violent crimes—murder, robbery, and assault—follow patterns over time that lead us to conclude that the gun law did not significantly alter the number or type of serious crimes in Detroit.

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 455, No. 1, 150-167 (1981)
DOI: 10.1177/000271628145500113
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