Firearms and Crime - Tracing Guns Used In Crime

Many of the data presented in this chapter demonstrate that the criminal misuse of guns by young people is a serious problem. A major federal effort to deal with the problem was launched in 1996 by the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Called the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII), the program traces firearms to their original point of sale when a trace is requested by local law enforcement agencies. The program aims to reduce the availability of guns to young criminals. It focuses on how these criminals obtain firearms and targets their suppliers for possible prosecution in federal court, where the penalties are stiffer. ATF is not able to trace guns manufactured prior to 1968, most surplus military weapons, imported guns without the importer's name, stolen guns, and guns missing a legible serial number. Research by ATF shows that a high percentage of crime guns with obliterated serial numbers were originally purchased as part of a multiple sale by a licensed dealer and then illegally trafficked. Statistics from the Crime Gun Trace Reports, 2000, also reveal that obliteration is more common for semiautomatic pistols and crime guns recovered from youths and juveniles.

Table 5.16 shows crime gun trace data for 2000 (88,570 guns were traced). From 1996 to 1998 the ATF traced an average of 70,000 guns each year, almost 50,000 of which involved weapons offenses. (Many weapons offenses are never prosecuted because it is difficult to build a case against firearms traffickers or because prosecutors decide to proceed on different criminal charges.) The rest of the guns were recovered during crime investigations: about 5,000 in homicides, 5,000 in assaults, 2,000 in burglaries, nearly 2,000 in robberies, and 10,000 in drug-related offenses. An average of one out of ten firearms the police recovered was from a juvenile (age seventeen and under). When ages eighteen to twenty-four are included, the number changes to four out of ten. An average of one-half of guns traced were sold by a dealer within the previous three years, which means that the guns are being trafficked shortly after they are legally purchased.

TABLE 5.14

Arrest trends, by offense, 1993–2002
[7,596 agencies; 2002 estimated population 175,384,794; 1993 estimated population 157,011,564]
	Number of persons arrested
	Total all ages			Under 18 years of age			18 years of age and over
Offense charged	1993	2002	Percent change	1993	2002	Percent change	1993	2002	Percent change
1Does not include suspicion.
2Violent crimes are offenses of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
3Property crimes are offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
4Includes arson.
*Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
SOURCE: Table 32. Ten-Year Arrest Trends, in Crime in the United States, 2002, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/html/web/arrested/04-table32.html (accessed October 8, 2004)
Total1	8,581,290	8,413,983	−1.9	1,564,326	1,393,752	−10.9	7,016,964	7,020,231*
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	15,125	8,933	−40.9	2,485	886	−64.3	12,640	8,047	−36.3
Forcible rape	23,509	17,394	−26	3,928	2,887	−26.5	19,581	14,507	−25.9
Robbery	96,877	69,405	−28.4	26,505	16,338	−38.4	70,372	53,067	−24.6
Aggravated assault	320,814	299,286	−6.7	49,427	38,082	−23	271,387	261,204	−3.8
Burglary	253,751	178,477	−29.7	89,511	54,393	−39.2	164,240	124,084	−24.4
Larceny-theft	959,452	729,825	−23.9	307,926	216,434	−29.7	651,526	513,391	−21.2
Motor vehicle theft	128,552	94,608	−26.4	57,740	28,664	−50.4	70,812	65,944	−6.9
Arson	12,646	10,055	−20.5	6,451	4,957	−23.2	6,195	5,098	−17.7
Violent crime2	456,325	395,018	−13.4	82,345	58,193	−29.3	373,980	336,825	−9.9
Property crime3	1,354,401	1,012,965	−25.2	461,628	304,448	−34	892,773	708,517	−20.6
Crime index4	1,810,726	1,407,983	−22.2	543,973	362,641	−33.3	1,266,753	1,045,342	−17.5
Other assaults	733,037	782,294	6.7	126,489	143,933	13.8	606,548	638,361	5.2
Forgery and counterfeiting	66,364	71,842	8.3	5,341	3,070	−42.5	61,023	68,772	12.7
Fraud	218,695	195,925	−10.4	6,449	5,258	−18.5	212,246	190,667	−10.2
Embezzlement	7,910	11,815	49.4	510	883	73.1	7,400	10,932	47.7
Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing	101,613	76,137	−25.1	28,808	15,766	−45.3	72,805	60,371	−17.1
Vandalism	209,095	169,842	−18.8	97,968	65,360	−33.3	111,127	104,482	−6
Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc.	175,998	104,418	−40.7	42,530	22,615	−46.8	133,468	81,803	−38.7
Prostitution and commercialized vice	61,811	51,275	−17	755	958	26.9	61,056	50,317	−17.6
Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	69,072	59,193	−14.3	13,387	12,198	−8.9	55,685	46,995	−15.6
Drug abuse violations	710,922	974,082	37	73,413	116,781	59.1	637,509	857,301	34.5
Gambling	10,348	6,500	−37.2	1,715	1,053	−38.6	8,633	5,447	−36.9
Offenses against the family and children	67,930	79,059	16.4	3,520	5,208	48	64,410	73,851	14.7
Driving under the influence	984,141	879,210	−10.7	8,878	12,921	45.5	975,263	866,289	−11.2
Liquor laws	316,919	385,611	21.7	75,836	88,574	16.8	241,083	297,037	23.2
Drunkenness	509,543	362,979	−28.8	11,705	11,452	−2.2	497,838	351,527	−29.4
Disorderly conduct	483,676	398,728	−17.6	103,747	112,844	8.8	379,929	285,884	−24.8
Vagrancy	13,581	15,702	15.6	2,254	1,346	−40.3	11,327	14,356	26.7
All other offenses (except traffic)	1,834,511	2,209,668	20.4	221,650	239,171	7.9	1,612,861	1,970,497	22.2
Suspicion	6,231	2,252	−63.9	1,239	708	−42.9	4,992	1,544	−69.1
Curfew and loitering law violations	68,042	91,984	35.2	68,042	91,984	35.2	—	—	—
Runaways	127,356	79,736	−37.4	127,356	79,736	−37.4	—	—	—

In 2000 the top ten crime guns traced by the ATF were:

• Smith & Wesson .38 revolver
• Lorcin .380 semiautomatic pistol
• Ruger 9mm semiautomatic pistol
• Raven .25 semiautomatic pistol
• Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic pistol
• Smith & Wesson .357 revolver
• Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun
• Bryco .389 semiautomatic pistol
• Davis .380 semiautomatic pistol
• Bryco 9mm semiautomatic pistol

Nine of the top ten were handguns, while seven of the top ten crime guns were semiautomatic pistols. Five of the top ten crime guns were manufactured by well-established domestic gun companies: Smith & Wesson, Ruger, and Mossberg. The Raven, the Lorcin, and the Davis are small, cheap handguns, often called "junk guns" or "Saturday Night Specials."

The ATF's trace program now has about four dozen cities participating. Researchers Philip J. Cook and Anthony

TABLE 5.15

Arrests, by race, 2002
[10,370 agencies; 2002 estimated population 205,108,615]
	Total arrests					Percent distribution1
Offense charged	Total	White	Black	American Indian or Alaskan Native	Asian or pacific Islander	Total	White	Black	American Indian or Alaskan Native	Asian or pacific Islander
Total	9,797,385	6,923,390	2,633,632	130,636	109,727	100	70.7	26.9	1.3	1.1
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	10,099	4,814	5,047	115	123	100	47.7	50	1.1	1.2
Forcible rape	20,127	12,766	6,852	240	269	100	63.4	34	1.2	1.3
Robbery	77,280	34,109	41,837	471	863	100	44.1	54.1	0.6	1.1
Aggravated assault	338,850	214,992	115,789	4,069	4,000	100	63.4	34.2	1.2	1.2
Burglary	205,873	144,958	56,647	1,992	2,276	100	70.4	27.5	1	1.1
Larceny-theft	843,066	572,515	246,946	10,345	13,260	100	67.9	29.3	1.2	1.6
Motor vehicle theft	107,031	64,625	39,114	1,156	2,136	100	60.4	36.5	1.1	2
Arson	11,808	9,067	2,537	100	104	100	76.8	21.5	0.8	0.9
Violent crime2	446,356	266,681	169,525	4,895	5,255	100	59.7	38	1.1	1.2
Property crime3	1,167,778	791,165	345,244	13,593	17,776	100	67.7	29.6	1.2	1.5
Crime Index4	1,614,134	1,057,846	514,769	18,488	23,031	100	65.5	31.9	1.1	1.4
Other assaults	919,691	610,946	286,787	12,201	9,757	100	66.4	31.2	1.3	1.1
Forgery and counterfeiting	82,882	57,125	24,148	458	1,151	100	68.9	29.1	0.6	1.4
Fraud	232,336	157,763	71,538	1,431	1,604	100	67.9	30.8	0.6	0.7
Embezzlement	13,379	9,153	3,959	64	203	100	68.4	29.6	0.5	1.5
Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing	91,150	53,535	35,986	611	1,018	100	58.7	39.5	0.7	1.1
Vandalism	198,139	150,437	42,757	2,804	2,141	100	75.9	21.6	1.4	1.1
Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc.	118,148	73,140	42,810	879	1,319	100	61.9	36.2	0.7	1.1
Prostitution and commercialized vice	58,659	33,650	23,455	364	1,190	100	57.4	40	0.6	2
Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	67,761	50,378	15,745	680	958	100	74.3	23.2	1	1.4
Drug abuse violations	1,101,547	728,797	357,725	6,848	8,177	100	66.2	32.5	0.6	0.7
Gambling	7,525	2,033	5,136	38	318	100	27	68.3	0.5	4.2
Offenses against the family and children	97,393	66,440	28,180	1,266	1,507	100	68.2	28.9	1.3	1.5
Driving under the influence	1,017,504	893,395	99,548	15,460	9,101	100	87.8	9.8	1.5	0.9
Liquor laws	462,215	405,275	41,204	11,397	4,339	100	87.7	8.9	2.5	0.9
Drunkenness	412,735	345,448	55,598	9,563	2,126	100	83.7	13.5	2.3	0.5
Disorderly conduct	481,932	321,117	149,393	7,883	3,539	100	66.6	31	1.6	0.7
Vagrancy	19,669	12,223	6,888	419	139	100	62.1	35	2.1	0.7
All other offenses (except traffic)	2,599,658	1,751,450	778,558	37,377	32,273	100	67.4	29.9	1.4	1.2
Suspicion	7,647	4,130	3,128	108	281	100	54	40.9	1.4	3.7
Curfew and loitering law violations	103,054	70,738	29,717	1,083	1,516	100	68.6	28.8	1.1	1.5
Runaways	90,227	68,371	16,603	1,214	4,039	100	75.8	18.4	1.3	4.5
	Arrests under 18					Percent distribution1
Offense charged	Total	White	Black	American Indian or Alaskan Native	Asian or pacific Islander	Total	White	Black	American Indian or Alaskan Native	Asian or pacific Islander
Total	1,620,594	1,158,776	415,854	20,383	25,581	100	71.5	25.7	1.3	1.6
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	972	446	487	23	16	100	45.9	50.1	2.4	1.6
Forcible rape	3,355	2,079	1,207	37	32	100	62	36	1.1	1
Robbery	17,878	6,895	10,537	91	355	100	38.6	58.9	0.5	2
Aggravated assault	44,185	26,877	16,217	535	556	100	60.8	36.7	1.2	1.3
Burglary	61,754	44,680	15,558	689	827	100	72.4	25.2	1.1	1.3
Larceny-theft	248,202	173,910	65,667	3,443	5,182	100	70.1	26.5	1.4	2.1
Motor vehicle theft	32,487	18,949	12,428	445	665	100	58.3	38.3	1.4	2
Arson	5,837	4,711	1,026	48	52	100	80.7	17.6	0.8	0.9
Violent crime2	66,390	36,297	28,448	686	959	100	54.7	42.8	1	1.4
Property crime3	348,280	242,250	94,679	4,625	6,726	100	69.6	27.2	1.3	1.9
Crime Index4	414,670	278,547	123,127	5,311	7,685	100	67.2	29.7	1.3	1.9
Other assaults	168,641	106,119	58,518	1,942	2,062	100	62.9	34.7	1.2	1.2
Forgery and counterfeiting	3,644	2,845	711	33	55	100	78.1	19.5	0.9	1.5
Fraud	6,418	4,242	2,051	47	78	100	66.1	32	0.7	1.2
Embezzlement	1,004	696	287	1	20	100	69.3	28.6	0.1	2
Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing	18,769	10,612	7,761	134	262	100	56.5	41.4	0.7	1.4
Vandalism	75,781	61,373	12,594	919	895	100	81	16.6	1.2	1.2
Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc.	25,239	16,945	7,751	207	336	100	67.1	30.7	0.8	1.3
Prostitution and commercialized vice	1,094	479	597	6	12	100	43.8	54.6	0.5	1.1

A. Braga praised the program in "New Law Enforcement Uses for Comprehensive Firearms Trace Data" (Guns, Crime, and Punishment in America, edited by Bernard E. Harcourt, New York: New York University Press, 2003). They view it as a useful tool in combating gun violence in three specific ways:

1Because of rounding, the percentages may not add to 100.0.
2Violent crimes are offenses of murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
3Property crimes are offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
4Includes arson.
*Less than one-tenth of 1 percent.
SOURCE: Table 43. Arrests, in Crime in the United States, 2002, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2003, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/html/web/arrested/04-table43.html (accessed October 8, 2004)
Sex offences (expect forcible rape and prostitution)	13,857	9,986	3,603	107	161	100	72.1	26	0.8	1.2
Drug abuse violations	133,494	97,766	33,208	1,152	1,368	100	73.2	24.9	0.9	1
Gambling	1,114	127	955	0	32	100	11.4	85.7	*	2.9
Offenses against the family and children	6,554	4,837	1,541	56	120	100	73.8	23.5	0.9	1.8
Driving under the influence	15,155	14,138	628	267	122	100	93.3	4.1	1.8	0.8
Liquor laws	105,652	97,372	4,629	2,656	995	100	92.2	4.4	2.5	0.9
Drunkenness	13,508	12,155	995	258	100	100	90	7.4	1.9	0.7
Disorderly conduct	138,847	88,761	47,261	1,708	1,117	100	63.9	34	1.2	0.8
Vagrancy	1,518	1,147	346	14	11	100	75.6	22.8	0.9	0.7
All other offenses (except traffic)	281,184	210,704	62,641	3,261	4,578	100	74.9	22.3	1.2	1.6
Suspicion	1,170	816	330	7	17	100	69.7	28.2	0.6	1.5
Curfew and loitering law violations	103,054	70,738	29,717	1,083	1,516	100	68.6	28.8	1.1	1.5
Runaways	90,227	68,371	16,603	1,214	4,039	100	75.8	18.4	1.3	4.5
	Arrests under 18					Percent distribution1
Offense charged	Total	White	Black	American Indian or Alaskan Native	Asian or pacific Islander	Total	White	Black	American Indian or Alaskan Native	Asian or pacific Islander
Total	8,176,791	5,764,614	2,217,778	110,253	84,146	100	70.5	27.1	1.3	1
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter	9,127	4,368	4,560	92	107	100	47.9	50	1	1.2
Forcible rape	16,772	10,687	5,645	203	237	100	63.7	33.7	1.2	1.4
Robbery	59,402	27,214	31,300	380	508	100	45.8	52.7	0.6	0.9
Aggravated assault	294,665	188,115	99,572	3,534	3,444	100	63.8	33.8	1.2	1.2
Burglary	144,119	100,278	41,089	1,303	1,449	100	69.6	28.5	0.9	1
Larceny-theft	594,864	398,605	181,279	6,902	8,078	100	67	30.5	1.2	1.4
Motor vehicle theft	74,544	45,676	26,686	711	1,471	100	61.3	35.8	1	2
Arson	5,971	4,356	1,511	52	52	100	73	25.3	0.9	0.9
Violent crime2	379,966	230,384	141,077	4,209	4,296	100	60.6	37.1	1.1	1.1
Property crime3	819,498	548,915	250,565	8,968	11,050	100	67	30.6	1.1	1.3
Crime Index4	1,199,464	779,299	391,642	13,177	15,346	100	65	32.7	1.1	1.3
Other assaults	751,050	504,827	228,269	10,259	7,695	100	67.2	30.4	1.4	1
Forgery and counterfeiting	79,238	54,280	23,437	425	1,096	100	68.5	29.6	0.5	1.4
Fraud	225,918	153,521	69,487	1,384	1,526	100	68	30.8	0.6	0.7
Embezzlement	12,375	8,457	3,672	63	183	100	68.3	29.7	0.5	1.5
Stolen property; buying, receiving, possessing	72,381	42,923	28,225	477	756	100	59.3	39	0.7	1
Vandalism	122,358	89,064	30,163	1,885	1,246	100	72.8	24.7	1.5	1
Weapons; carrying, possessing, etc.	92,909	56,195	35,059	672	983	100	60.5	37.7	0.7	1.1
Prostitution and commercialized vice	57,565	33,171	22,858	358	1,178	100	57.6	39.7	0.6	2
Sex offenses (except forcible rape and prostitution)	53,904	40,392	12,142	573	797	100	74.9	22.5	1.1	1.5
Drug abuse violations	968,053	631,031	324,517	5,696	6,809	100	65.2	33.5	0.6	0.7
Gambling	6,411	1,906	4,181	38	286	100	29.7	65.2	0.6	4.5
Offenses against the family and children	90,839	61,603	26,639	1,210	1,387	100	67.8	29.3	1.3	1.5
Driving under the influence	1,002,349	879,257	98,920	15,193	8,979	100	87.7	9.9	1.5	0.9
Liquor laws	356,563	307,903	36,575	8,741	3,344	100	86.4	10.3	2.5	0.9
Drunkenness	399,227	333,293	54,603	9,305	2,026	100	83.5	13.7	2.3	0.5
Disorderly conduct	343,085	232,356	102,132	6,175	2,422	100	67.7	29.8	1.8	0.7
Vagrancy	18,151	11,076	6,542	405	128	100	61	36	2.2	0.7
All other offenses (except traffic)	2,318,474	1,540,746	715,917	34,116	27,695	100	66.5	30.9	1.5	1.2
Suspicion	6,477	3,314	2,798	101	264	100	51.2	43.2	1.6	4.1
Curfew and loitering law violations	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Runaways	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

TABLE 5.16

Firearm type by age group of possessor, 2000
	Juvenile (ages 17 & younger)		Youth (ages 18–24)		Adult (ages 25 & older)		Age unknown		All ages
Firearm type	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent	Number	Percent
SOURCE: "Table 2. Firearm Type by Age Group of Possessor," in Crime Gun Trace Reports, 2000, U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001, http://www.atf.gov/firearms/ycgii/2000/generalfindings.pdf (accessed October 9, 2004)
All firearm types	4,112	100.0	18,085	100.0	32,044	100.0	34,329	100.0	88,570	100.0
Semiautomatic pistol	2,332	56.7	11,036	61.0	15,032	46.9	15,952	46.5	44,352	50.1
Revolver	1,113	27.1	4,089	22.6	8,094	25.3	10,257	29.9	23,553	26.6
Rifle	297	7.2	1,282	7.1	4,508	14.1	3,907	11.4	9,994	11.3
Shotgun	312	7.6	1,475	8.2	3,810	11.9	3,681	10.7	9,278	10.5
Other	58	1.4	203	1.1	600	1.9	532	1.5	1,393	1.6

• Informing strategic planning efforts to interdict the transactions by which criminals tend to acquire their guns;
• Identifying specific firearm dealers and traffickers as targets for enforcement actions; and
• Providing a basis for evaluating the effects of changes in gun control laws.

It has also been suggested that manufacturers and distributors could use the information for self-policing the gun industry.

Opponents argue that guns are so readily available, and from so many different sources, that efforts to restrict them is futile. But Cook and Braga countered that gun trace data provides an invaluable wealth of information on the identity of gun traffickers, and wrote, "Trace data are also establishing a unique niche in policy evaluation, providing a basis for exploring the effects of supply-oriented interventions on the types and sources of guns used in crime."