Concealed weapon permit issuance is one of the most contentious topics debated in modern politics today. The primary point of disagreement within this debate hinges on whether these permits serve to increase violence by those who possess them, or whether they decrease crime through the deterrent effect of their presence in society. Using responses of residents of a large southeast correctional facility this study analyzed the reported inclination of criminals to commit direct contact crimes under several specific scenarios, based on their exposure to various levels of information relating to issuance of concealed weapon permits. By comparing the responses across groups this research sought to determine whether an individual deterrent effect exists based on available knowledge of issuance. The results suggest that, overall, while no statistically significant difference was noted between the groups there was a trend in the means of those groups that had varying levels of knowledge of concealed weapon permits to report a greater perception of the threat involved in committing crimes under the scenarios presented than those with no such knowledge. This indicates that there may be, to some degree, a deterrent effect found in information relating to such permit issuance.