![]() At the same time, the increasing availability of 3-D printers, which can create the plastic and metal components of guns, has opened a new backdoor source of illegal weapons for gangs and drug dealers who would otherwise have to steal them. There is a huge surfeit of supplies in circulation, enough to supply dealers who sell pre-assembled guns, via social media platforms or the dark web, for years. Since January 2016, about 25,000 privately made firearms have been confiscated by local and federal law enforcement agencies nationwide. This isn't just happening on the West Coast. But they believe it is basically a matter of a new, disruptive technology gradually gaining traction in a market, then rocketing up when buyers catch on. Law enforcement officials are not exactly sure why their use is taking off. By the beginning of October, he said, the department had recovered almost 400 ghost guns, about double the total for all of 2020 with nearly three months to go in the year. Paul Phillips of the San Diego Police Department, who this year organized the force's first unit dedicated to homemade firearms. "I've been on the force for 30 years next month, and I've never seen anything like this," said Lt. The vast majority of suspects caught with them were legally prohibited from having guns. Over the past 18 months, the officials said, ghost guns accounted for 25 to 50 percent of firearms recovered at crime scenes. They call the guns "increasingly the lethal weapon of easy access around the U.S., but especially California," based on interviews with law enforcement officials in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco: Listen to the Policy Outsider episode on ghost guns.Untraceable "ghost guns" assembled from parts bought online "can be ordered by gang members, felons and even children," writes the New York Times. While the federal government considers regulations, state and local lawmakers are exploring and enacting laws and policies designed to monitor and prevent ghost guns from falling into the hands of people who are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. Law enforcement agencies are unable to trace and therefore prohibit the flow of ghost guns. While these numbers may represent a relatively low percentage of total gun recoveries, ghost guns pose a unique and rapidly growing challenge. ![]() In Washington, DC, the number of ghost gun recoveries jumped from just three in 2017 to 282 in 2020. Similarly, the Baltimore Police Department reported a 400 percent increase in ghost gun recoveries from 2019 to 2020. ![]() In 2020, law enforcement in New York State recovered 220 ghost guns compared to 72 in 2019 and only 38 in 2018, a 479 percent increase statewide over the three-year period, according to data from the New York State Intelligence Center. ![]() They are an emerging problem across the United States, being used in crimes and recovered by law enforcement at a rate that continues to climb with each passing year. Ghost guns are homemade firearms that cannot be traced by law enforcement. But what exactly are ghost guns, what challenges do they pose, and how would these actions help find a solution? On April 7, 2021, President Biden announced multiple executive actions on gun violence with several specifically targeted at addressing the nation’s ghost gun problem.
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