This statement is just one of many telling comments Arthur Kellerman and other Emory researchers gleaned during 58 face-to-face interviews with law enforcement and juvenile justice system officials in Atlanta who deal daily with youth offenders. Kellerman is director of the Center for Injury Control and the principal investigator for a research project that released the second of three Special Reports on Youth Firearms and Violence in Atlanta on Oct. 23.
The majority of officials interviewed reported feeling less safe on duty now than they felt five years ago.
* "Respondents described two types of kids who carry guns: the first type uses a gun for leverage and threats without fear of the consequences; the second type of kid carries a gun to protect himself from the first type."
* "Law enforcement officers and juvenile justice officials generally agreed that kids carry guns for self-protection, power and respect."
* Officials interviewed said guns were easily obtained by teenagers, primarily purchased from drug addicts or drug dealers (cited as important sources in Fulton County and the city of Atlanta, though not in Gwinnett), stolen from homes and cars of law-abiding citizens or obtained from a family member.
* "Public education about safe storage of firearms, street-level interdiction of the illegal gun market and active tracing of guns used in juvenile crime were all supported by 75 percent or more of responding juvenile justice and law enforcement officials."
* "More juvenile justice officials ranked tougher sentencing of juveniles for gun-related crimes as a bad idea, while law enforcement officers strongly felt it was a good idea."
* "Although juvenile justice officials appeared less enthusiastic about law enforcement interdiction efforts than did law enforcement officials, they almost unanimously supported community and school-based efforts such as mentoring, part-time jobs, and employment and training opportunities."
-- Lorri Preston