What Percentage Of Crimes Are Committed With Stolen Guns?

Someone came by looking for “what percentage of crimes are committed with stolen guns.” I think the result will be a little clearer if we work that problem “backwards.”

First of all, the total number of gun related crimes is also 100% of all gun crimes.

Conventional wisdom and 1980′s studies have it that 7% of all persons arrested for a gun crime have committed a “crime of domestic violence,” almost always with a legally purchased firearm.

The same studies found that 11% of persons arrested for a gun crime were armed with a gun from “unknown sources.” That is interesting but not extremely informative.

Those studies also found that 82 percent of those arrested for a gun crime were armed with a stolen gun. Which is interesting and informative.

So depending on how you want to slice the “unknown 11%” the percentage of gun toting criminals arrested with a stolen gun runs between 82 and 93%.

Conventional wisdom has it that 92% of all gun criminals are armed with a stolen gun. Something that is not unreasonable, although in fact it may be a percent or two high.

But all this talks begs the question; “What percentage of crimes are committed with stolen guns” is the question. The fact is that a very high percentage of gun related crimes are never solved.

We know from other studies that a typical criminal will commit a “major crime” every 48 hours or so to cover living expenses. We know that a typical criminal will “be on the street” for more than four months before they slip up and are arrested. That would place a typical criminal’s run at around 65 serious crimes before they are arrested.

But since it is not to the criminal’s interest to confess, we do not know how many of those are gun crimes and how many are not. Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Probably closer to a dozen. But until all the crimes get solved, we can only guess.

The best guess I can come up with is 96% of all gun related crimes are committed by career criminals, using a stolen gun. That seems to be the consensus among the detectives and criminologists I have talked to.

But the lack of information makes all this pretty murky.

Continue reading here: How Many Crimes Are Committed By Legal Purchasers

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Readers' Questions

  • Mariam
    What percent of stolen guns are used in a crime?
    6 months ago
  • The exact percentage of stolen guns used in crimes can vary across different regions and time periods. However, according to various studies and reports, a general estimate is that around 10% to 15% of stolen guns are used in criminal activities. It is important to note that this number is not precise and can be influenced by various factors, including local crime rates and law enforcement efforts.
    • Nora
      How many violent gun crimes are committed with stolen guns?
      9 months ago
    • ? It is difficult to determine the exact number of violent gun crimes committed with stolen guns because information on whether a gun was stolen is not always included in criminal records. However, according to ATF estimates, approximately 10%-15% of guns used in crimes are stolen.
      • ISABELLE
        What percent of guns used in crimes are stolen?
        11 months ago
      • According to the US Department of Justice, firearms used in crimes are most likely to originate from sources other than theft, accounting for approximately 67% of all firearms used in crimes. However, studies have found that approximately 15-20% of guns used in crimes in the United States were stolen.
        • santo siciliano
          What percentage of criminals use stolen firearms?
          12 months ago
        • It is difficult to estimate the exact percentage of criminals who use stolen firearms. However, various studies have estimated that between 15% and 40% of criminals obtain their firearms from illegal sources, including theft.
          • Wegahta Fikru
            How many stolen firearms are used in crimes?
            1 year ago
          • It is difficult to quantify how many stolen firearms are used in crimes. However, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) estimated that 650,000 firearms were reported stolen in the United States in 2018. Additionally, the ATF estimated that over 200,000 of these guns were used in criminal activities.