Firearms Trace Data: New York - 2020

Data Source: Firearms Tracing System

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020

 

Contents

  1. ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer
  2. Table: Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in New York in Calendar Year 2020
  3. Table: Firearm Types with a New York Recovery
  4. Table: Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a New York Recovery
  5. Table: Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New York Recovery
  6. Table: Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a New York Recovery
  7. Table: Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a New York Recovery
  8. Table: Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New York Recovery
  9. Table: Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New York 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 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 York in Calendar Year 2020

7,254

 

Firearm Types with a New York Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Pistols 4,889
Revolvers 1,129
Rifles 696
Shotguns 422
Derringers 54
Unknown Types 34
Receivers/Frames 18
Other* 12

* Other includes Machineguns, Silencers, an Any Other Weapon and a Combination.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a New York Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
9mm 2,271
.380 Cal 852
.22 Cal 812
.40 Cal 629
.38 Cal 475
.45 Cal 423
12GA 317
.25 Cal 267
.32 Cal 229
.357 Cal 201

NOTE: There were 660 additional traces that were associated with other calibers. There were 118 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New York Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Possession of Weapon 3,867
Firearm Under Investigation 959
Found Firearm 653
Weapon Offense 408
Dangerous Drugs 390
Simple Assault 112
Traffic Offense 103
Health - Safety 84
Homicide 78
Firing Weapon 59

NOTE: There were 541 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a New York Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
New York 910
Georgia 632
Virginia 491
South Carolina 427
North Carolina 370
Florida 347
Pennsylvania 334
Ohio 234
Alabama 150
Texas 122
Tennessee 101
West Virginia 74
Maine 69
Mississippi 66
Vermont 56

NOTE: An additional 34 states accounted for 514 other traces. The source state was identified in 4,897 total traces.

 

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

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Under 3 Months 323
3 Months to Under 7 Months 330
7 Months to Under 1 Year 194
1 Year to Under 2 Years 395
2 Years to Under 3 Years 392
3 Years and Over 3,206

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 New York Average Time-to-Crime: 10.16 Years

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 National Average Time-to-Crime: 7.01 Years

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a New York Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
17 and Under 266
18 to 21 931
22 to 24 642
25 to 30 1,240
31 to 40 1,206
41 to 50 478
Over 50 508

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 New York Average Age of Possessor: 32 Years

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 National Average Age of Possessor: 34 Years

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a New York Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
New York City 3,323
Rochester 708
Buffalo 478
Syracuse 249
Albany 115
Yonkers 94
Niagara Falls 68
Elmira 56
Schenectady 56
Troy 49

NOTE: There were 507 additional municipalities that accounted for 2,050 other traces. The recovery city could not be determined for eight traces.

 

Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced

  • Includes traces with a recovery state of New York. Traces in which the recovery state was not provided were included when the requesting agency state was equal to New York.
  • Includes Firearms Recovered and Traced between 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020 or, if the recovery date was blank, firearms with trace entry dates between 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020.
  • 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 12, 2021.
  • All traces may not have been submitted or completed at the time of this study.

Firearm Types and Calibers with a New York Recovery

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

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a New York Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced. Beginning in CY 2010, attempted homicide, attempted suicide and negligent vehicular manslaughter are reported in separate categories.

Top Source States for Firearms with a New York 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 York 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 York 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 York 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 2020 Firearms Trace Data

Last Reviewed November 22, 2021