SACRAMENTOـــ Today, the Attorney General of California announced that the 2022 Firearms Dashboard portal of the California Department of Justice (DOJ) now offers new and updated firearms statistics. The OpenJustice data platform of the DOJ provides access to the dashboard. In addition to broad platform improvements to make it easier for the public to access firearms data in California, including details on the issuance of Concealed Weapons Permits (CCWs) and Restriction of Gun Violence Orders, the announcement will increase transparency and information sharing for firearms data (GVROs).
According to Attorney General Bonta
"transparency is vital to improving public trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve." "We must do everything we can to avoid gun violence as news of the awful mass shootings continues to dominate the news cycle, leaving many with feelings of fear and anxiety. To better communicate the information required to pursue initiatives to tighten California's gun restrictions is one of my continuing priorities. By enabling our communities to better understand the function and possible risks of weapons in our state, today's news gives people knowledge and power.
The DOJ strives to strike a balance between protecting personally identifiable information in the data the Department collects and maintains and fulfilling its obligations to provide gun violence and firearms data to support research initiatives. Data-driven research is essential to ensuring the safety of Californians because it informs and shapes our sensible gun legislation. Attorney General Bonta is improving the usability and accessibility of the current weapons database with today's announcement by adding more information in a thorough data dashboard. When accessible, the dashboard offers information from the previous ten years on the following subjects:
- Dealership Sales Record
- Gun violence prohibition orders
- Concealed Weapon Permit
- Firearm Safety Certificates
- assault weapons
- List of certified handguns
Deeper study of GVROs, which are now shown at both the state and county levels, is one of the modifications. The dashboard shows that over a five-year period, the number of GVROs granted in California increased from 104 issued statewide in 2017 to 1,384 issued statewide in 2021, an increase of 1,231% over a single year. Attorney General Bonta believes that GVROs are an important instrument in the fight against gun violence. This tactic is supported by research. According to a report last year from the University of California, Davis, GVROs stopped roughly 58 mass shootings in California between 2016 and 2018.
Links to a variety of supplementary resources, including reports, apps, legal data, and frequently asked questions (FAQs), are also provided on the dashboard. Attorney General Bonta's commitment to increasing data accessibility for the general public is continued with the provision of enhanced data and information. Attorney General Bonta declared in April 2021 that his agency will start providing researchers studying gun violence with more information in order to better guide Californian policy decisions.
California keeps working to promote the laws and regulations that save lives and stop gun deaths. The gun death rate in California was 37% lower than the national average in 2021. California had the 44th-lowest gun mortality rate in the country, according to the CDC, with 8.5 gun fatalities per 100,000 residents, as opposed to 13.7 nationwide. 28.6 in Mississippi, 20.7 in Oklahoma, and 14.2 in Texas are the national averages. The child gun death rate in California is 58% lower than the national average and is also lower than that of other states.
Attorney General Bonta stands with partners across the state to continue to strategically and aggressively prevent gun violence