It’s the walk, not the talk: Behavioral indicators of concealed and unholstered firearms carrying
| Author | Alexander Garinther,Christopher Strange,Nathan Meehan |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X20960777 |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
2021, Vol. 94(4) 462 –480
Article
It’s the walk, not the talk:
Behavioral indicators of
concealed and unholstered
firearms carrying
Nathan Meehan and Christopher Strange
Second Sight Training Systems LLC, Scotia, NY, USA
Alexander Garinther
Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Portland, OR, USA
Abstract
This article identifies a set of behavioral indicators associated with the carrying of
concealed and unholstered handguns. Using qualitative data collected from interviews
and focus groups with veteran law enforcement, we outline a variety of cues that, when
used appropriately, can help authorities identify people who may be concealing hand-
guns. This work provides a systematic means of assisting the police in identifying and
safely interdicting persons who might pose a threat to police or the public. The cues
described here contribute to a lexicon that may also serve law enforcement commu-
nication, training, and research.
Keywords
Law enforcement, gun carrying, crime prevention, police practice
Several layers of complexity surround law enforcement’s interaction with persons car-
rying firearms. Firearms, whether carried legally o r illegally, carry the potential for
offensive use against officers and the public. Terrorism, active shooters, media publicity
of police officers killing unarmed civilians, ambush killings of police officers, and
variation in the ability of citizens to legally carry firearms exacerbate these complexities.
It is essential for police officers to be aware of those who may be carrying firearms in
their vicinity and to take appropriate and legal action based on the situation.
Corresponding author:
Nathan Meehan, Second Sight Training Systems LLC, PO Box 2022, Scotia, NY 12302, USA.
Email: nmeehan@secondsight-ts.com
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
ªThe Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X20960777
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Meehan et al. 463
Concerns about persons carrying concealed and unholstered weapons are well
founded. According to FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 46 US law enforcement officers
(LEOs) died in the line of duty in 2017; in the vast majority of these cases (42 of 46
cases), officers were killed with a firearm (United States Department of Justice, 2018).
Of those 42 firearm-related deaths, 32 involved a handgun (United States Department of
Justice, 2018), which is the easiest type of firearm to conceal given its shape and weight.
Past research also suggests that most people carryin g handguns illegally do not use
holsters (Pinizzotto et al., 2006).
Therefore, research that might facilitate the ability of officers to identify persons
carrying concealed and potentially illegal firearms can be of great benefit to officer
safety, the ability of police to protect the public, as well as their ability to enforce the
law. This article identifies and describes a set of behavioral indicators that veteran law
enforcement associate with the carrying of concealed, unholstered, and potentially ille-
gal handguns. These behavioral indicators are derived from multiple interview and focus
group discussions with subject matter experts (SMEs). The research described in this
document is part of a larger project funded by the United States Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense called the Just Doesn’t Look Right (JDLR) Project, undertaken by
authors at the United States Naval Research Laboratory.
This article is divided into the following sections: after this introduction is an outline
of background literature and the scope of our investigation; the section that follows
describes our investigation, its methods and findings; the findings section itself is orga-
nized into three different sub-sections; following this catalog of findings is a discussion
of additional concerns, caveats, limitations, and future directions.
Background and scope
There is sparse academic research on behavioral indicators of gun carrying and most
available materials are limited to practitioner-focused training materials (for example,
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, 2011; Porter, 2010). However,
some previous work has attempted to organize an understanding of how to identify those
who may be committing or preparing to commit other types of criminal activity, which
can potentially inform the study of gun carrying. Some of this research falls under the
domain of criminal profiling and associated techniques, the use and effectiveness of
which has been widely debated (see discussion in Becton, 1986; Cloud, 1985; Poythress
et al., 1993; Young, 1991). Voices on the issue vary a great deal, and concerns about
profiling work are further complicated by myriad legal considerations that surround the
practice of search and seizure (Becton, 1986; Cloud, 1985; Young, 1991; Wilson, 1996),
a full discussion of which is beyond the scope of this document. Note that behavioral
profiling and personality profiling have considerably different scholarly histories and
theoretical foundations; the current investigation is b ased in the former—behavioral
profiling—which has more to do with actions and observa tions that take place in a
particular moment, as opposed to characterizing the nature of an offender, which we
do not build on here.
2The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles XX(X)
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