Data: For convenience, the Excel file is available here, as well as a webpage with the list and links to the underlying news stories (see also here). We also show cases that the FBI missed of both armed and unarmed civilians stopping active shooting...
Crime Prevention
Research Center
Dedicated to conducting academic quality research on the relationship between laws regulating the ownership or use of guns, crime, and public safety
Latest Research
UPDATED: Should We Deport Illegal Aliens Only After They’re Convicted?: Waiting for a Drug Selling Conviction Can Cost Taxpayers Anywhere from Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars to Over a Half a Million
Take the case of Isaac Melendez-Carranza, an illegal alien from El Salvador, who was recently arrested for allegedly selling fentanyl to students at Park View High School in Loudoun County, Virginia. Investigators linked him to at least two student...
The Latest Research
Get our latest research on crime sent straight to you. Find out what law enforcement and gun ownership policies will make people safer
Latest Columns
At Real Clear Politics: Supreme Court Just Gave Mail-In Ballot Safeguards a Chance
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics. The piece also appeared at the Epoch Times and World Net Daily. . The Supreme Court’s decision to stay the injunction blocking President Trump’s March executive order on mail-in ballots gives...
At Townhall: The Trump Administration Restores the Gun-Defense Data the Biden CDC Buried
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Townhall. . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has restored information on defensive gun use that it removed from its website in 2022 after gun-control advocates privately pressured agency officials to take it down....
At Real Clear Politics: Krugman and the Politics of Falling Crime
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics. It was also published in World Net Daily. . Paul Krugman remains one of the left’s most influential voices. In his latest column, he argues that President Trump avoids taking credit for the drop in murders...
At The Federalist: Socialists’ Demands To Abolish Police And Prisons Will Mean More Dead Americans
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at The Federalist. . Democrats insist that "Black Lives Matter," yet many increasingly embrace policies that protect violent criminals at the expense of black victims. . What these Democrats ignore is that criminals overwhelmingly...
At Real Clear Politics: America’s Murder Problem Is Smaller Than It Looks
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics that discusses our new research on murder and murder victims.See also World Net Daily . . World Cup visitors discovered something many Americans already know: The United States does not feel like the dangerous place...
At Real Clear Politics: The Second Amendment Opinion That Scrambled the Partisan Script
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Real Clear Politics on the assault weapon ban decision out of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. It was also published at The Epoch Times. . Friday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Third Circuit striking...
At Townhall: Why We Need the SAVE America Act
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed at Townhall on the push for the SAVE America Act. . Democrats argue that requiring voter photo IDs—even when the ID itself is given away free—creates practical barriers that prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. “We’re all set for...
At The Federalist: Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Really Is Slashing Violent Crime
Dr. John Lott has a new op-ed piece at The Federalist. It was also linked to by Real Clear Politics, Hot Air, and ACE of Spades HQ. Two days after the piece was posted, it was still the second most read piece at The Federalist (see the bottom of the post). . Is crime...
Videos
Talks
Talk in Argentina: Making People Safer
Here is the audio and PowerPoint for Dr. John Lott's recent talk in Buenos Aires, Argentina on August 13th. This talk has Lott speaking in English followed by a translator speaking in Spanish. Argentina-Talk-2025-without-videoDownload The video in the presentation is...
Talk at Freedomfest 2026 Why Self-defense is Critical for Public Safety
Dr. John Lott gave a talk at Freedomfest on why self-defense is critical for public safety. Here is the audio of his talk and a copy of his PowerPoint. Unfortunately, there were real technical difficulties with showing people the PowerPoint so people weren't able to...
Talk in Houston: Gun Control Myths
Dr. John Lott gave a talk in Houston on April 17th, 2026 titled "Gun Control Myths." The audio here isn't perfect,, but hopefully between the audio and the PowerPoint the main message will get across. For those interested, there is also the book....
Media Appearances
On Armed American Radio: To Discuss FBI Crime Data, Defensive Gun Use, and Constitutional Carry
Dr. John Lott talked to Mark Walters and Arizona Representative Quang Nguyen on the Armed American Radio show about new FBI crime data, estimates of defensive gun use ranging from 60,000 to roughly 2.5 million incidents annually, and why surveys may miss cases where...
On WPHT Afternoon Show: To Discuss Defensive Gun Use and Election Integrity
https://youtu.be/g217AXP2-zE Dr. John Lott talked to fill-in host Mike Opelka on Philadelphia’s WPHT Afternoon Show about his new op-eds at Townhall ("The Trump Administration Restores the Gun-Defense Data the Biden CDC Buried") and Real Clear Politics ("Supreme Court...
On The Vicki McKenna Show: To Discuss the Idaho In-N-Out Mass Shooting and Defensive Gun Use
Dr. John Lott talked to Vicki McKenna on her statewide radio show in Wisconsin about the recent mass shooting at an Idaho In-N-Out, where an armed citizen and an off-duty Idaho State Police trooper intervened against the shooter, likely preventing further casualties....
All Our Posts
News Coverage at the Washington Times: “The FBI says 16 shooters were stopped by civilians. One researcher counts 225”
Stephen Dinan at the Washington Times has a news story on our newest report on errors in the FBI's active shooting reports. Our report is available here and the underlying list of cases can be found here. As usual, "The FBI didn’t respond to a request for comment for...
CATO Institute Misrepresents U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines by Claiming Arrests and Criminal Charges Against Illegal Aliens Don’t Count Toward Their Criminal History and Completely Ignore Why “Rap Sheets” Include Arrests and Charges
Democrats and open borders organizations such as the CATO Institute think that only illegal aliens who have been convicted of crime should be deported, and even many times they don't think that those individuals should be deported. The media often follows this lead...
Massive errors in FBI’s Active Shooting Reports from 2014-2025 regarding cases where civilians stop attacks: Instead of 3.9%, the correct number is at least 36.6%. Excluding gun-free zones, it averaged over 52.9%. In 2025, it was 58.3%.
Data: For convenience, the Excel file is available here, as well as a webpage with the list and links to the underlying news stories (see also here). We also show cases that the FBI missed of both armed and unarmed civilians stopping active shooting...














