ARLINGTON, Va., April 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Policing
Institute (NPI) today released a full-length report addressing
state laws mandating reporting of lost and stolen firearms. The
40-page report is the first known of its kind and reflects a
culmination of research, including a review of literature and state
policies and interviews with policing executives, investigators,
and other experts throughout the United
States.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), 205,000 firearms were
stolen from private owners each year from 2017 to 2021. Most of
these thefts involved pistols, and 62% of the incidents took place
in the southern states. These figures represent only those firearms
reported stolen and do not include firearms that were lost.
Most significantly, most states and cities have no legal
requirement to report a firearm that is lost or stolen from an
individual owner, which suggests the actual number of thefts and
losses is possibly much higher. Research confirms that stolen
firearms can and do make their way into the hands of criminals,
those prohibited from possessing firearms, and into trafficking and
other illicit networks.
Keeping Firearms Out of the Wrong Hands: Addressing Theft and
Diversion Through Reporting of Lost and Stolen
Firearms offers a rare opportunity to examine the design
and implementation of crime policies rather than solely focusing on
the effects or outcomes of the policy. The report offers nearly two
dozen best practices and recommendations which fill a critical
knowledge gap in determining if the laws can be effective as
designed in the 15 states that currently have these laws in
place.
"Despite how well-intended some policy choices may be, we cannot
ignore the design and implementation of these policies and how
these features may strengthen or weaken compliance with the laws
and their intended outcomes," commented NPI President Jim Burch. "Many of the laws we reviewed appear
to lack the necessary support of logical design and well-conceived
implementation features in addition to the input and support of
state and local law enforcement."
"This report is a powerful example of how careful policy
analysis can improve public safety. Policy—overall but especially
when it comes to policy that can make the difference between life
and death—has got to be designed with a focus on implementation and
in consideration of the input from the anticipated implementer. It
can't be just what feels right or sounds good," said Adam Gelb, Executive Director of the Council on
Criminal Justice (CCJ).
"Getting these policies and practices right is critical in our
efforts to reduce gun violence," added Tim
Daly, Program Director for Gun Violence Prevention and
Justice Reform at the Joyce Foundation. "NPI's focus on improving
policy design and implementation offers important recommendations
for strengthening these approaches at a time when new research
shows how big of a problem lost and stolen firearms are becoming in
our communities, and where little was previously known on how best
to upend this source of crime guns."
This study was funded by the Joyce Foundation, a private,
nonpartisan philanthropy that invests in public policies and
strategies related to culture, democracy, education and economic
mobility, environment, gun violence prevention and justice, reform,
and journalism.
To read the full report, visit
policinginstitute.org/firearms-report/.
Media Contact: Caitlyn Anderson
media@policinginstitute.org | 571-442-6022
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SOURCE National Policing Institute