Firearms and Crime - Aggravated Assault

The FBI defines aggravated assault as:

an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault is usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. Attempts are included since it is not necessary that an injury result when a gun, knife, or other weapon is

TABLE 5.7

Law enforcement officers assaulted, by circumstance at scene of incident and type of weapon, 2002
Circumstance	Total	Firearm	Knife or cutting instrument	Other dangerous weapon	Personal weapons
Note: Due to rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0.
SOURCE: "Table 62. Law Enforcement Officers Assaulted; Circumstance at Scene of Incident by Type of Weapon, Percent Distribution, 2002," in Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/02leoka.pdf (accessed October 9, 2004)
Total	58,066	1,889	1,056	8,326	46,795
Percent distribution	100.0	3.3	1.8	14.3	80.6
Disturbance calls (family quarrels, bar fights, person with firearm, etc.)	18,063	554	486	1,766	15,257
Percent distribution	100.0	3.1	2.7	9.8	84.5
Burglaries in progress/pursuing burglary suspects	820	33	14	193	580
Percent distribution	100.0	4.0	1.7	23.5	70.7
Robberies in progress/pursuing robbery suspects	505	111	11	100	283
Percent distribution	100.0	22.0	2.2	19.8	56.0
Attempting other arrests	9,464	207	117	1,109	8,031
Percent distribution	100.0	2.2	1.2	11.7	84.9
Civil disorders (mass disobedience, riot, etc.)	656	10	2	90	554
Percent distribution	100.0	1.5	0.3	13.7	84.5
Handling, transporting, custody of prisoners	7,759	26	55	616	7,062
Percent distribution	100.0	0.3	0.7	7.9	91.0
Investigating suspicious persons/circumstances	5,702	289	100	911	4,402
Percent distribution	100.0	5.1	1.8	16.0	77.2
Ambush situations	199	53	6	42	98
Percent distribution	100.0	26.6	3.0	21.1	49.2
Mentally deranged assailants	982	68	87	127	700
Percent distribution	100.0	6.9	8.9	12.9	71.3
Traffic pursuits/stops	6,412	271	50	2,222	3,869
Percent distribution	100.0	4.2	0.8	34.7	60.3
All other	7,504	267	128	1,150	5,959
Percent distribution	100.0	3.6	1.7	15.3	79.4

used that could and probably would result in serious personal injury if the crime were successfully completed.

In 2002, 894,348 aggravated assault offenses were reported to the police, which is a 1.6% decrease over the previous year. The rate of 310.1 incidents per 100,000 population was 2.7% lower than the 2001 rate.

Weapons Used in Aggravated Assaults

In 2002 firearms were used in 19% of aggravated assaults, and 17.8% of aggravated assaults were committed with knives or other cutting instruments. In the remaining weapons categories, personal weapons such as hands or feet were used in 27.7% of the aggravated assaults, and blunt weapons were used in the remainder (35.4%). Table 5.9 categorizes the weapons used for aggravated assaults by region. Data by region show that Southern states had the highest rate of firearms usage in the commission of aggravated assaults (21%).