An unintentional discharge is the event of a

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

discharging (firing) at a time not intended by the user. An unintended discharge may be produced by an incompatibility between firearm design and usage, such as the phenomenon of

cooking off Cooking off (or thermally induced firing) is unfired weapon ammunition exploding prematurely due to heat in the surrounding environment. The term is used both for detonation of ammunition not loaded into a weapon, and unintended firing of a lo ...

a round in a closed bolt machine gun, a mechanical malfunction as in the case of

slamfire A slamfire is a discharge of a firearm occurring as a cartridge is being loaded into the chamber. Some firearms are designed to slamfire, but the term also describes a malfunction of self-loading firearms. Shooters accustomed to firearms requiring ...

in an automatic weapon, or be user induced due to training issues or negligence. The phenomenon has also been defined in scientific literature as ''an activation of the trigger mechanism that results in an unplanned discharge that is outside of the firearm’s prescribed use''. Where prescribed use refers to departmental policies and laws related to the operation of firearms (O'Neill, 2018).

Types

Accidental discharge

An accidental discharge (AD) occurs when there is a mechanical failure of the firearm. This can include things like firearms that do not have mechanisms to render them drop safe falling a sufficient distance, a firing pin stuck forward, a sear failing, or rounds heating sufficiently to spontaneously ignite in the chamber (as may happen in a closed bolt machine gun).

Negligent discharge

A negligent discharge (ND) is a discharge of a

involving

culpable In criminal law, culpability, or being culpable, is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible for action and inaction. It has been noted that the word, culpability, "ordinarily ha ...

carelessness. In judicial and military technical terms, a negligent discharge is a chargeable offence. A number of

armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

s automatically consider any

accidental discharge An unintentional discharge is the event of a firearm discharging (firing) at a time not intended by the user. An unintended discharge may be produced by an incompatibility between firearm design and usage, such as the phenomenon of cooking off a ...

to be negligent discharge, under the assumption that a trained soldier has control of his firearm at all times. This is the case in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

,Trevino, Abel. "Proper Weapons Practices Key to Ending Negligent Discharge Incidents in Iraq." ''army.mil''. United States Army. 1 March 2007

/ref>

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and various Police Forces within the United Kingdom. From an article on a U.S. Air Force website:

Notes

Forensic firearm examiners typically use more simplistic definitions limited to only two categories: unintentional discharge (no mechanical malfunction involved) and accidental discharge (mechanical malfunction involved).

* * * * *{{cite book, last=Johnson, first=Brian R., title=Crucial Elements of Police Firearms Training, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwvu-am3wbcC&pg=PA111, date=2007, publisher=Looseleaf Law Publications, isbn=978-1-932777-30-7, pages=111–113 *O’Neill, J., O’Neill, D. A., & Lewinski, W. J. (2016, November)
A behavior analysis of unintentional discharges
''The Police Chief'', 83, 14-15. *O’Neill, J., O’Neill, D. A., & Lewinski, W. J. (2017). Toward a taxonomy of the unintentional discharge of firearms in law enforcement. ''Applied Ergonomics, 59''(A), 283–292. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.08.013 *O'Neill, J., Hartman, M. E., O'Neill, D. A., & Lewinski, W. J. (2018). Further analysis of the unintentional discharge of firearms in law enforcement. ''Applied Ergonomics, 68'', 267-272. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2017.12.004 *O’Neill, J., Hartman, M. E., O’Neill, D. A., & Lewinski, W. J. (2018, April)
The ABCs of unintentional discharges
''The Police Chief'', 85, 14-15. *O’Neill, J. (2018). Functional behavior assessment of the unintentional discharge of firearms in law enforcement. ''Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 38''(4), 275-287. doi:10.1080/01608061.2018.1514348 *Paulsen, J., (2017, March)
300 Negligent Discharges: Comprehensive Data Science
''ConcealedCarry.com''.

References

Accidents Firearm safety Military law

Types

Accidental discharge

Negligent discharge

See also

Notes

Further reading

References