Gun Thefts from Cars: Memphis Ranks #1 for the Largest Source of Stolen Guns

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KEY FINDINGS

In cities that report crime data to the FBI:

  • On average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every 15 minutes.
  • Thefts from cars divert guns away from the legal market, making them particularly dangerous.
  • A decade ago, less than a quarter of gun thefts were from cars; in 2020, over half were.
  • 2019–2020 saw recent history’s biggest spike in gun thefts from cars, in unison with spikes in gun sales and homicides, and the speed of crime gun recoveries.
  • Cars parked at residences (driveways, outside homes, etc.) are the most common source of stolen guns, demonstrating the importance of securely storing guns at all times and locations.

RELATED: WGNS Radio-‘Vehicle Break-ins Continue’

Gun Thefts from Cars are on the Rise

On July 22, 2021, a gun was stolen from an unlocked car in Riverside, Florida. Twelve days later, the gun was used in the murder of a 27-year-old US Coast Guard member as she attempted to intervene in a neighborhood car burglary.1

The majority of gun homicides and assaults involve illegal guns.2 But where do these guns come from, and how are they getting into dangerous hands, where they are then too often used in acts of violence? New research from Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund finds that in cities that report data to the FBI, gun thefts from cars are now the largest source of stolen guns—one that continues rising in parallel with rising rates of gun sales and violence.

To answer these questions, Everytown researchers analyzed FBI crime data spanning 271 small- to large-size cities across 38 states.3 Collectively, these cities cover 49 million people. This analysis revealed that in 2020, an estimated 77,000 guns were reported stolen across these cities alone.4 This count is likely a conservative estimate since only 15 states require gun owners to report lost and stolen guns,5 so many missing guns go unreported.6 While guns can be stolen in a variety of ways (e.g., pickpocketing, burglary, robbery), in 2020, over half (52 percent) were stolen from cars.7 In effect, an average of at least one gun is stolen from a car every 15 minutes, amounting to an estimated 40,000 guns stolen from cars in 2020 across these 271 cities.8 This is a stark increase from 10 years earlier, when the majority of gun thefts were from burglaries (45 percent), and under a quarter (24 percent) were from cars.9 In fact, the past decade’s overall increase in gun thefts is driven by the rise in gun thefts from cars.

RELATED: State Rep. Mike Sparks and State Sen. Kerry Roberts propose to extend sales tax holiday for gun safes into 2023

Why are gun thefts from cars on the rise?

Data clearly shows that gun thefts from cars are on the rise, but more research is needed to understand exactly what’s driving this increase. In the meantime, descriptive trends point to a few likely—and unlikely—answers. First, it doesn’t seem to be associated with an increase in thefts from cars in general. In fact, the overall rate of thefts from cars (not gun-specific) has decreased somewhat over the past decade (–15 percent), while the rate of gun thefts from cars has soared (+225 percent) in cities that report data to the FBI.10 Second, the rise in gun thefts from cars is not likely associated with cars now being parked in different or more dangerous locations. Rather, consistently over the past 10 years, 41 percent of gun thefts from cars in these 149 cities have happened at residences, whether the driveway or near the home of the gun owner or others.11 

Residences are the leading location of gun thefts from cars.

Residences are the leading location of gun thefts from cars.

Source: Everytown for Gun Safety analysis of FBI NIBRS data, 2011–2020.

 

Some police chiefs speculate that a combination of unlocked cars and increasing numbers of young people engaging in this particular crime type may be relevant.12 Cities located in states with particularly weak gun laws are associated with greater rates of gun thefts from cars.13 In many of these cities, high rates of gun ownership and laws that make it easier to take guns out of homes create conditions under which gun thefts from cars may be more likely.14 Further supporting this trend, the five cities with the highest rates of gun thefts from cars are all in states with particularly weak gun laws.

 

Five Cities with the Highest Rates of Gun Thefts from Cars

City Rate per 100,000 People
1. Memphis, TN 193.6
2. Chattanooga, TN 193.1
3. Columbia, SC 172.6
4. North Charleston, SC 165.0
5. Warner Robins, GA 162.9
Source: Everytown for Gun Safety analysis of FBI NIBRS data, 2011–2020.

The trend in gun thefts from cars since 2010 is shown below for 149 small- to large-size cities, located in over half of US states. Gun thefts from cars have gone up in most of these cities over this period.

Explore Gun Thefts from Cars Over Time

Gun thefts from cars have been trending upward for much of the last decade, but the sharpest increase occurred at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, when gun sales and violence notably spiked as well. In the decade prior to the pandemic, an average of 13.5 million guns were sold annually, but in 2020, this number jumped to 22 million.15 Guns more quickly showed up at crime scenes as well. In 2020, 306,135 guns were recovered and traced by law enforcement, and the number of these that were purchased within the last three months nearly doubled.16 Similarly, an average of 13,110 people died by gun homicide each year in the decade pre-pandemic, but this number spiked to 19,995 in 2020.17 Researchers are still learning what’s driving these associations, but a natural consequence of increased gun ownership, such as the pattern we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, is an increase in gun thefts. And as opposed to other types of thefts, gun thefts in particular put families, schools, and entire communities at risk, should the stolen gun then be used in a shooting.

Explore Gun Thefts from Cars in 2020