The final volume of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) study on firearms trafficking, released on Jan. 8, calls for expansion of the background check and gun tracing programs as well as investigations along the U.S. southern border.
Volume IV of the National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA) is the final volume in a study ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021.
“This final volume … concludes the most comprehensive look at America’s crime gun data in over two decades and confirms that ATF’s [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] advanced intelligence tools are vital to helping law enforcement nationwide solve gun crimes and take shooters off the streets,” Garland said in a statement announcing the report.
“Expanded use of ATF’s crime gun tracing and National Integrated Ballistic Information Network has provided more investigative leads than ever on violent gun crimes, enhanced strategic intelligence on violent gangs, and improved the apprehension and prosecution of violent criminals.”
Researchers reported a 1,600 percent increase in the number of privately made firearms recovered from crime scenes and a 784 percent increase in the number of seized machine gun conversion devices between 2019 and 2023.
The report shows a 63 percent increase between 2017 and 2023 in the number of crime guns in Mexico that came from the United States.
The majority of those guns came from Texas, Arizona, and California, the report states.
These include guns used by Mexican Cartels in drug and human trafficking operations. In 2023, the number of southbound firearms seized at the border increased by 86 percent from the previous year.
“As this report makes clear, increased resources could help ATF expand its operational efforts along the border,” DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs said in the statement.
The report also calls for expanded background checks as outlined in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022.
Last September, the DOJ announced policies to allow states to share mental health and criminal background records through the National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS).
The report states that expanded background checks would save lives and prevent criminals from obtaining guns.
The report also calls for more action on so-called “ghost guns.” Privately made firearms (PMFs) have been a focus of the ATF because they do not have serial numbers and are difficult to trace.
The report states that between 2017 and 2023, 92,702 suspected PMFs were reported. During that time, the number of PMFs found at crime scenes increased from 1,629 to 27,490.
Almost 1,700 were connected to homicides and 4,000 were linked to other violent crimes, according to the report.
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