Ghost Guns Are Everywhere in California
Feds say nearly a third of firearms recovered in the state are homemade, unserialized, and untraceable.
Law Enforcement
Denver Builds Out Pioneering Gun Crime Investigation Unit
The city that set the bar for sharing ballistic intel is pushing its successful approach regionwide.
The Police Chief Who Learned to Listen
To curb homicides, Eric Jones started by having the Stockton, California PD focus on repairing its relationship with residents. “More than ever, I see trust in police connected to reducing violent crime.”
A New Method of DNA Testing Could Solve More Shootings
Criminologists thought it was impossible to get DNA off of shell casings, but a technique pioneered in the Netherlands is having notable results.
ATF’s Push to Solve More Gun Crimes Is Stymied by Local Police, Report Finds
A push by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to improve…
Police Departments Fail to Regularly Trace Crime Guns
We set out to determine how domestic killers in South Carolina got their guns. Instead, we found evidence of a widespread breakdown of critical crime-fighting intel.
Spurred by The Trace’s Reporting, Atlanta Stiffens Punishment for Cops Who Leave Their Guns Unattended
After being contacted by The Trace’s reporters, the Atlanta Police Department clamped down…
Law Enforcement’s Lost and Stolen Gun Problem
An investigation by The Trace shows that police departments’ uneven storage rules have put deadly weapons into the hands of criminals.
New Federal Grants Seek to Boost Prosecutions of Gun Ballistics Cases
A national database of shell casings has been deployed unevenly. So the DOJ is encouraging lawyers who want to use it to link and crack cases.
A Powerful Database Helps Solve Gun Crimes. Only Two States Require Police to Use It.
New Jersey and Delaware have laws mandating that investigators use an innovative ballistics system called NIBIN. The other 48 states don’t — and their reticence makes it harder to ID shooters everywhere.
Watch How Crime Labs Use a Tool Called NIBIN to Crack Gun Cases
If you’re curious about potential solutions for the nation’s gun violence crisis, watch this crime-fighting tool in action.
A Scrappy California Crime Lab Is Cracking More Gun Cases — Thanks to Technology Bigger Agencies Misuse
Propelled by a new, no-nonsense boss, Contra Costa County ditched the excuses that keep many law enforcement agencies from taking better advantage of a crime-fighting database called NIBIN.