Firearms Trace Data: New Jersey - 2021

Data Source: Firearms Tracing System

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

 

Contents

  1. ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer
  2. Table: Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in New Jersey in Calendar Year 2021
  3. Table: Firearm Types with a New Jersey Recovery
  4. Table: Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Jersey Recovery
  5. Table: Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Jersey Recovery
  6. Table: Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery
  7. Table: Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery
  8. Table: Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery
  9. Table: Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery
  10. Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

 

ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer

Firearm traces are designed to assist law enforcement authorities in conducting investigations by tracking the sale and possession of specific firearms. Law enforcement agencies may request firearms traces for any investigative reason, and those reasons are not necessarily reported to the federal government. Not all firearms used in crime are traced and not all firearms traced are used in crime.

Firearms selected for tracing are not chosen for purposes of determining which types, makes or models of firearms are used for illicit purposes. The firearms selected do not constitute a random sample and should not be considered representative of the larger universe of all firearms used by criminals, or any subset of that universe. Firearms are normally traced to the first retail seller, and sources reported for firearms traced do not necessarily represent the sources or methods by which firearms in general are acquired for use in crime.

 

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in New Jersey in Calendar Year 2021

4,685

 

Firearm Types with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Pistols 3,403
Revolvers 584
Rifles 399
Shotguns 249
Derringers 20
Machineguns 14
Other* 16

* Other includes Receivers/Frames and Unknown Types.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
9mm 1,905
.40 Cal 453
.22 Cal 421
.380 Cal 367
.45 Cal 311
.38 Cal 250
12GA 211
.32 Cal 124
.357 Cal 117
.25 Cal 88

NOTE: There were 369 additional traces that were associated with other calibers.​ There were 69 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Possession of Weapon 2,317
Found Firearm 1,220
Weapon Offense 145
Firearm Under Investigation 138
Aggravated Assault 111
Dangerous Drugs 92
Family Offense 89
Homicide 86
Simple Assault 53
Weapons Trafficking 53

NOTE: There were 381 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
New Jersey 520
Pennsylvania 496
Georgia 409
South Carolina 309
Virginia 297
North Carolina 265
Florida 169
Ohio 79
West Virginia 63
Texas 57
Alabama 56
Tennessee 46
New York 44
Delaware 40
Kentucky 31

NOTE: An additional 33 states accounted for 321 other traces. The source state was identified in 3,202 total traces.

 

Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Under 3 Months 180
3 Months to Under 7 Months 216
7 Months to Under 1 Year 263
1 Year to Under 2 Years 393
2 Years to Under 3 Years 213
3 Years and Over 1,904

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 New Jersey Average Time-to-Crime: 9.20 Years

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 National Average Time-to-Crime: 6.24 Years

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
17 and Under 152
18 to 21 470
22 to 24 358
25 to 30 667
31 to 40 725
41 to 50 431
Over 50 399

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 New Jersey Average Age of Possessor: 34 Years

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 National Average Age of Possessor: 34 Years

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Newark 570
Camden 365
Trenton 319
Paterson 262
Jersey City 188
Elizabeth 133
Atlantic City 120
East Orange 107
Vineland 64
Hamilton 61

NOTE: There were 388 additional municipalities that accounted for 2,494 other traces. The recovery city could not be determined for two traces.

 

Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced

  • Includes traces with a recovery state of New Jersey. Traces in which the recovery state was not provided were included when the requesting agency state was equal to New Jersey.
  • Includes Firearms Recovered and Traced between 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021 or, if the recovery date was blank, firearms with trace entry dates between 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021.
  • Duplicate traces, Firearms Not Recovered, Gun Buyback and Firearms Turned In are not included in this figure.
  • Data was extracted from the Firearms Tracing System (FTS) on April 18, 2022.
  • All traces may not have been submitted or completed at the time of this study.

Firearm Types and Calibers with a New Jersey Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Jersey Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced. 

Top Source States for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Traces must identify a purchaser and the state in which the final dealer is located.

Time-to-Crime Rates for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Traces must identify a purchaser.
  • Time-to-Crime was calculated for those traces in which the purchase date could be subtracted from the recovery date.

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Includes traces that provide a possessor and the possessor’s date of birth.
  • Possessor’s age is calculated by subtracting the possessor’s date of birth from the recovery date.

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New Jersey Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Includes traces with a recovery city or, if the recovery city was not provided, traces requested by agencies with jurisdiction only within that city.

 

View All 2021 Firearms Trace Data

Last Reviewed September 15, 2022