Crime reductions after enhanced implementation of Washington state's domestic violence protection order firearm relinquishment law

Federal law and many state laws prohibit certain individuals who are restrained by Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPO) from possessing or purchasing a firearm. In addition to reducing the risk of harm to individuals protected by these orders, these laws and their implementation may also help improve public safety. This study examined the impact of enhanced implementation of Washington state's law requiring firearm relinquishment by individuals restrained by DVPOs on subsequent alleged criminal behavior. We assessed efforts of the Regional Domestic Violence Firearms Enforcement Unit (RDVFEU), a regional unit that investigates high risk firearm cases, including civil protection orders that require the restrained person to relinquish firearms with a primary goal of harm reduction in this context. The unit does outreach to protected parties, conducts threat assessments, shares relevant information with law enforcement to ensure swift follow up, resolves issues on court orders, and provides comprehensive firearm access and possession information to relevant courts. We examined the effect of the unit on crime, measured using arrests for reported crimes as a proxy for actual crime, for each restrained person by deterministically and probabilistically linking individuals to statewide administrative criminal history data. We used an intent-to-treat design to compare both incidence and severity of crime committed by restrained individuals in the 24 months following DVPO issuance by estimating Cox proportional hazard regressions, competing events regressions, and Winratio tests. We found the work of the RDVFEU related to Washington's firearm relinquishment law reduced crime among DVPO respondents by 27 percentage points. RDVFEU implementation also contributed to reductions in the severity of crimes when they occurred. • Firearm relinquishment laws may protect victims and benefit public safety. • Enhanced implementation reduced crime among restrained individuals. • There were also reductions in the severity of crimes when they occurred.