crime

The ability to obtain confidential or classified information through leaks remains crucial to news media practice. Although specific cases may raise vexing questions, countless stories using such information channels have furthered democratic debate and served as a useful check on power, abuse and corruption. Even a cursory glance at the Pulitzer Prize winners over the years affirms this basic truth.

Perpetrators of violent crime can impact economies in a variety of ways, from encouraging emigration and brain drain to discouraging foreign direct investment. In many parts of the developing world, violent crime related to gang activity has risen to crisis levels, negatively impacting people, property and business activity. These issues periodically gain media visibility, but the true scope of the problem worldwide is seldom captured.

Although there is constant theoretical debate about the Second Amendment and the regulation of firearms in the United States, little concrete data has been gathered on the sociological and demographic dynamics at the source of sales — the licensed dealers and pawnbrokers from whom most Americans obtain guns.