More Guns Stolen: ATF Releases 2016 Firearm Loss/Theft Report

More than 18,000 firearms were lost or stolen from gun dealers last year in the United States, at least according to the latest ATF report hosted by RocketFFL. The BATFE compiled this data from the Firearms Tracing System (FTS) system.

The total number of lost and stolen firearms in the United States for 2016 is unknown at this time–but it would be significantly higher. Between 2005 and 2010, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 1.4 million firearms were reported stolen (over 230,000 per year). Those numbers from the BJS may be too low, as reporting a stolen firearm is not legally obligated in every state, nor does everyone follow the law.

However, FFLs are legally required to report a lost or stolen firearm within 48 hours to the National Tracing Center so this report is probably fairly accurate.

The ATF breaks down the numbers to category of firearm and type of loss.

We did find it a little strange that derringers have their own category.

RocketFFL notes:

Compared to the ATF’s 2015 Theft/Loss report, that’s a 124% increase in the total firearms reported lost/stolen (14,800 in 2015), a 150% increase in the number of firearms stolen (6,163 in 2015), and a 105% increase in the number of firearms lost (8,637 in 2015).

The report continues by breaking down all of the information state-by-state. You can check out the full report here.
@DM