Firearms Trace Data: New Mexico - 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 Mexico in Calendar Year 2021
  3. Table: Firearm Types with a New Mexico Recovery
  4. Table: Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Mexico Recovery
  5. Table: Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Mexico Recovery
  6. Table: Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a New Mexico Recovery
  7. Table: Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a New Mexico Recovery
  8. Table: Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New Mexico Recovery
  9. Table: Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New Mexico 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 Mexico in Calendar Year 2021

4,114

 

Firearm Types with a New Mexico Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Pistols 2,690
Rifles 629
Revolvers 322
Shotguns 284
Machineguns 135
Derringers 23
Other* 31

* Other includes Receivers/Frames, Unknown Types, Destructive Devices, Any Other Weapons and a Silencer.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Mexico Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
9mm 1,577
.22 Cal 459
.40 Cal 317
.45 Cal 281
.380 Cal 235
12GA 226
.38 Cal 115
5.56mm 114
7.62mm 111
.357 Cal 84

NOTE: There were 493 additional traces that were associated with other calibers.​ There were 102 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Mexico Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Firearm Under Investigation 1,112
Possession of Weapon 858
Aggravated Assault 392
Dangerous Drugs 277
Weapon Offense 267
Found Firearm 224
Homicide 214
Traffic Offense 122
Simple Assault 114
Suicide 111

NOTE: There were 423 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a New Mexico Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
New Mexico 2,623
Texas 177
Arizona 74
Colorado 57
California 36
Oklahoma 20
Florida 18
Georgia 18
Utah 17
North Carolina 12
Nevada 11
Missouri 10
Alaska 8
Washington 8
Indiana 7
Ohio 7

NOTE: An additional 32 states accounted for 108 other traces. The source state was identified in 3,211 total traces.

 

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

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Under 3 Months 384
3 Months to Under 7 Months 301
7 Months to Under 1 Year 335
1 Year to Under 2 Years 437
2 Years to Under 3 Years 278
3 Years and Over 1,401

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 New Mexico Average Time-to-Crime: 6.31 Years

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

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New Mexico Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
17 and Under 63
18 to 21 284
22 to 24 234
25 to 30 471
31 to 40 735
41 to 50 527
Over 50 381

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 New Mexico Average Age of Possessor: 38 Years

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

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New Mexico Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Albuquerque 2,418
Roswell 410
Hobbs 189
Las Cruces 133
Alamogordo 114
Silver City 69
Santa Fe 60
Carlsbad 58
Gallup 58
Farmington 52

NOTE: There were 108 additional municipalities that accounted for 551 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 Mexico. Traces in which the recovery state was not provided were included when the requesting agency state was equal to New Mexico.
  • 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 Mexico Recovery

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

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New Mexico Recovery

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

Top Source States for Firearms with a New Mexico 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 Mexico 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 Mexico 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 Mexico 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