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BTW, the gun buyback began in
1997 and took a while to complete - and undoubtedly even longer for supply effects to propagate down to criminal gun ownership and gun culture among youth.
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Criminal use of firearms didn't decrease at all during the first few years:
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A person was more likely to be a victim of a crime where a firearm was used in 2001 than in 1995, with the exception of murder. A firearm was the predominant weapon type for kidnappings/abductions in 2001, and a person was four times more likely to be a victim of a kidnapping/abduction involving a firearm in 2001 than in 1995. However, since 1995 there was a greater increase in the likelihood of being confronted by a weapon other than a firearm for attempted murder (54% increase), assault (67% increase) and robbery (145% increase).
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Also, imprisonment rates seem to have increased (at least between 2001 and 2005), so any decrease/lower increase in crime could just as easily be caused by more criminals being being locked up.