Designated as Armed and Dangerous

• The study examines the terms armed and dangerous in a national sample of warrants.
• Almost three percent of warrants have an armed and dangerous designation.
• Homicide and robbery offenders are the most likely to be labeled armed/dangerous.
• Warrants for non-contact sex crimes and pornography are less likely to be flagged.
• Male and Black offenders have a higher chance of being marked as armed/dangerous.

PurposeWithin the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) warrant database law enforcement can indicate if an offender is believed to be armed and/or dangerous. This study’s purpose was to determine the percentage of NCIC warrants that had offender designated as armed and/or dangerous. Predictors of armed/dangerous status were also explored.MethodsData from NCIC for the first nine months of 2014 were used. For the multivariate analysis a bootstrapped logistic regression controlling for clustering at the state level was chosen.ResultsApproximately, three percent of warrants across the nation were categorized as armed/dangerous. Several crime-related predictors as well as demographic predictors of the armed/dangerous notation were found. Offenders with warrants for homicide, assault, robbery, and weapons offenses were more likely to be categorized as armed/dangerous. Warrants for non-contact sex crimes and pornography were less likely to be labeled as such.ConclusionsThe utilization of the terms armed/dangerous in NCIC serves as a warning for police arresting offenders. For public and officer safety, it is critical to understand how often the label is applied and under what circumstances. The findings are discussed in the context of what is known about warrants, along with factors impacting the dangerousness of criminals during arrest.