Firearms Trace Data: Pennsylvania - 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 Pennsylvania in Calendar Year 2021
  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 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 Pennsylvania in Calendar Year 2021

15,370

 

Firearm Types with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Pistols 11,194
Rifles 1,667
Revolvers 1,433
Shotguns 903
Derringers 61
Unknown Types 40
Other* 72

* Other includes Receivers/Frames, Machineguns, Combinations, Any Other Weapons and a Silencer.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
9mm 6,895
.40 Cal 1,387
.22 Cal 1,286
.380 Cal 944
.45 Cal 911
12GA 649
.38 Cal 547
.357 Cal 330
5.56mm 250
.32 Cal 211

NOTE: There were 1,687 additional traces that were associated with other calibers.​ There were 273 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Possession of Weapon 4,213
Firearm Under Investigation 2,828
Dangerous Drugs 1,272
Found Firearm 1,226
Aggravated Assault 819
Weapon Offense 742
Family Offense 523
Carrying Concealed Weapon 520
Suicide 425
Homicide 413

NOTE: There were 2,389 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Pennsylvania 8,824
Georgia 309
Ohio 261
Virginia 259
South Carolina 247
Florida 180
West Virginia 170
North Carolina 155
Delaware 138
Texas 105
Maryland 65
Alabama 55
New Jersey 52
New York 52
Indiana 48
Tennessee 48

NOTE: An additional 33 states and Puerto Rico accounted for 418 other traces. The source state was identified in 11,386 total traces.

 

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

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Under 3 Months 1,363
3 Months to Under 7 Months 1,280
7 Months to Under 1 Year 1,326
1 Year to Under 2 Years 1,481
2 Years to Under 3 Years 725
3 Years and Over 5,137

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 Pennsylvania Average Time-to-Crime: 6.71 Years

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

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
17 and Under 423
18 to 21 1,270
22 to 24 1,239
25 to 30 2,191
31 to 40 2,429
41 to 50 1,141
Over 50 1,485

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 Pennsylvania Average Age of Possessor: 35 Years

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

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a Pennsylvania Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Philadelphia 6,113
Pittsburgh 1,221
Harrisburg 466
Erie 307
Reading 210
Allentown 162
York 126
Greensburg 118
Lancaster 116
Chester 114

NOTE: There were 965 additional municipalities that accounted for 6,362 other traces. The recovery city could not be determined for 55 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 1/1/2021 – 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 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.

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.

 

View All 2021 Firearms Trace Data

Last Reviewed September 15, 2022