Firearms Trace Data: Pennsylvania - 2020

Contents

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

14,044

 

Firearm Types with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Pistols 9,456
Rifles 1,822
Revolvers 1,627
Shotguns 946
Unknown Types 60
Derringers 56
Receivers/Frames 29
Other* 48

* Other includes Machineguns, Combinations, Any Other Weapons, Flare Guns, Silencers, Tear Gas Launchers, and a Destructive Device.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
9mm 5,106
.22 Cal 1,454
.45 Cal 910
12GA 670
.40 Cal 1,364
.380 Cal 1,042
.38 Cal 677
.357 Cal 328
.32 Cal 256
5.56 mm 236

NOTE: There were 1,733 additional traces that were associated with other calibers. There were 268 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Possession of Weapon 4,056
Firearm Under Investigation 3,068
Found Firearm 868
Dangerous Drugs 1,179
Aggravated Assault 749
Suicide 403
Weapon Offense 502
Family Offense 399
Simple Assault 297
Firing Weapon 271
Homicide 379

NOTE: There were 1,873 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearm Traces with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Pennsylvania 7,984
Virginia 264
Georgia 227
Ohio 209
North Carolina 174
South Carolina 147
West Virginia 118
Florida 115
Delaware 98
Texas 89
New York 81
Alabama 67
Maryland 64
Tennessee 55
New Jersey 52

NOTE: An additional 33 states and Puerto Rico accounted for 484 other traces. The source state was identified in 10,228 total traces.

 

Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Under 3 Months 1,306
3 Months to Under 7 Months 928
7 Months to Under 1 Year 578
1 Year to Under 2 Years 906
2 Years to Under 3 Years 743
3 Years and Over 5,400

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 Pennsylvania Average Time-to-Crime:  8.04 Years 

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

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
17 and Under 222
18 to 21 960
22 to 24 850
25 to 30 1,557
31 to 40 1,675
41 to 50 889
Over 50 1,270

1/1/2020-12/31/2020 Pennsylvania Average Age of Possessor: 36 Years

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

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020
Philadelphia 5,205
Pittsburgh 1,011
Harrisburg 350
Erie 323
Uniontown 265
Reading 260
Indiana 191
Allentown 161
Lancaster 127
Chester 104

NOTE: There were 953 additional municipalities that accounted for 5,880 other traces. The recovery city could not be determined for 167 traces.

 

Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced

  • Includes traces with a recovery state of Pennsylvania. Traces in which the recovery state was not provided were included when the requesting agency state was equal to Pennsylvania.
  • Includes Firearms Recovered and Traced between 1/1/2020 – 12/31/2020, or, if the recovery date was blank, the trace entry date was 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 Pennsylvania Recovery

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

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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.
Last Reviewed March 5, 2024