Firearms violence incident monitor – Methodological report

This methodological report provides a description of the development of the online Gun Violence Incidents Monitor.

The monitor (gunviolence.eu) aims to generate an almost real-time and automated identification of firearms incidents in all the EU Member States that is easily accessible to all stakeholders. Publicly available media articles are used to identify these incidents. The monitor implements and deploys different methods of AI, such as machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLMs), to automate the process of identifying, assessing, clustering and analysing media articles on firearms violence and firearms seizures in the EU. In its Action Plan on Firearms Trafficking 2020-2025, the European Commission noted that the fight against illicit access to firearms must be a cross-thematic security priority for the EU, its Member States and its partners. As the EC indicates, illicit access to firearms increases the risk of crime-related and domestic violence that may escalate into murder. Illegal access to firearms also facilitates other forms of criminal activity.

ISBN: 9789464074260

Authors: Diederik Cops, Astrid De Schutter & Tom De Smedt

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