Thread: Cops recovered 5,129 firearms in N.Y.C. in 2009

Fewer guns on NYC streets

By MURRAY WEISS, Criminal Justice Editor
Last Updated: 7:07 PM, April 29, 2010
Posted: 7:07 PM, April 29, 2010

The number of guns on the streets of the Big Apple has fallen — again.

Cops recovered 5,129 firearms from criminal suspects last year compared to 5,537 in 2008 — an eight percent decline, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Most of the guns came from states already roundly criticized by Mayor Bloomberg for being lax on background checks — led by Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.

"While gun dealers in the five states where we sued dealers remain in the top ten source states for crime guns, the number of crime guns from those states dropped by 19 percent between 2006 – the year we filed those lawsuits — and 2009," Bloomberg said.

The mayor heralded the fourth year in a row, the number of crime guns recovered here have dropped – from 7,059 in 2006 to 5,135 in 2009.

An ATF spokesman said the weapons recovered were not recently manufactured, which meant the flow of newly minted weapons was also continuing to decline — 527 so-called "low time" guns were seized last year compared to 527 in 2006.

"This progress is a testament to the vigorous efforts of the men and women of the NYPD, tough new state laws, and the City’s innovative litigation," he said.

"The ATF data validates our illegal gun trafficking strategy, and we will continue to do everything we can to keep illegal guns off our streets and keep New Yorkers safe."

The ATF report comes at a time when a shrinking NYPD is struggling to keep gun violence and serious crime at levels not seen here since the early 1960s.

So far this year, overall crime is down 1.1 percent —- but murders are up 20 percent, from 119 last year to 143 through last Sunday. And shootings are up 14.8 percent so far this year, to 373 from 325 for the same period last year. Gun arrests this year are down slightly to 1,222 compared to 1,234 last year.

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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/fewe ... EKBFb4SsPP

Cops recovered 5,129 firearms from criminal suspects

The ATF report comes at a time when a shrinking NYPD is struggling to keep gun violence and serious crime at levels not seen here since the early 1960s.

Justice Department 2008 on New York city crime

Drug Situation: New York City has long been home to numerous drug trafficking organizations. The city’s large, diverse, multi-class population creates a demand that these organizations are more than willing to serve. New York City also acts as the source for organizations that smuggle drugs to other East Coast destinations and to Canada and Europe.
More informationa at:
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/state_f ... wyork.html

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
News Release
New York Field Division
For Immediate Release

April 29, 2010

www.atf.gov
Contact: Special Agent Joseph Green
(718) 552-1602

ATF Posts 2009 NY State Crime Gun Data

Crime Gun Statistics Available On-Line

NEW YORK — Ronald B. Turk, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) New York Field Division, announces the release of aggregate trace data for crime guns recovered in New York State and submitted to ATF for tracing for calendar year 2009.

A review of the trace data compiled from January1 to December 31, 2009 (from a data set run between February 15 and March 25, 2010) for several regions within New York State reveals the following:

•9,673 firearms were submitted to ATF NY to be traced – 7,189 handguns and 2,464 long guns.
•Statewide, handguns outnumbered long guns by more than 2 ½ to 1.
•53% of all firearms recovered were within NY City.
•In NY City, handguns outnumbered long guns by more than 4 to 1.
•Each region has its own unique concerns when dealing with newer weapons recovered.
The 2009 New York State and City statistics are posted on the ATF NY web site; http://www.atf.gov/field/newyork/trace-data.html

A key component of ATF’s enforcement mission is the tracing of firearms on behalf of thousands of Federal, State, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies. In 2002 however, New York State enacted mandatory crime gun tracing through the ATF Crime Gun Center in Brooklyn. The Gun Center is the central repository for all recovered and traced firearms in New York State and gives ATF and our law enforcement partners an accurate and timely picture of illegal gun trafficking in the state. The most important piece of information of a traced firearm, other than the purchaser, is the Time to Crime (TTC) statistic. That is the time period from the initial sale of a weapon by a federally licensed dealer to its recovery by law enforcement. Every gun with a TTC less than two (2) years is looked at individually by ATF analysts with an intense focus on those guns with a TTC of less than one (1) year. A TTC less than one year may be a very strong indicator of illegal firearms trafficking.

Trace data tracks the transfer of a firearm from the importer or manufacturer to the gun’s first purchaser. This information can assist law enforcement in ultimately pinpointing the individual(s) who used the gun to commit a crime. ATF conducts traces to identify criminals for prosecution; therefore, firearms trace data is considered sensitive criminal intelligence. It is vital that this intelligence be shared with our State and local law enforcement partners to better assist them in investigating and solving violent crimes impacting their communities.

ATF is committed to providing critically important trace data to law enforcement agencies who seek our assistance. To ensure that we furnish the results in a timely manner, we must make certain that our efforts remain focused on criminal investigations, including the analysis of comprehensive crime gun trends and patterns.

Posting these statistics gives New Yorkers the ability to now use the Internet to find specific information on firearms recoveries while also gaining insight regarding the types of criminal offenses involved, where the firearms were recovered within their state and which states were the top source states for crime guns recovered.

Special Agent in Charge Turk said, “The process of tracing crime guns has been and will continue to be one of the top priorities ATF provides to our state and local law enforcement partners. Making sure that all recovered crime guns are traced is the very first step in identifying potential illegal gun runners and enables us to focus our investigative resources where they are needed most.â€