Rate of gun theft tracks pace of crime

Juvenile Justice Digest, Dec 31, 2002

The rate of gun theft in a state closely parallels its crime rate, according to the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation.

But the study found that the number of gun thefts declined from 1993 through August 2002 as states and cities strengthened gun control laws and firearms registration.

The nonprofit found 1.7 million gun thefts nationwide over the past decade, but the ratio of population to gun thefts in a state was more telling than the actual number.

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia and New Mexico were the leaders with gun thefts twice as high as the national average of 16.8 per thousand households.

States with the highest theft rates share common traits such as a large number of gun owners, high crime rates and no laws requiring safe storage of guns in homes.

Massachusetts was listed with the lowest rate of 2.9 thefts per thousand households.

The numbers show police recovered nearly 688,000 stolen firearms, leaving one million missing.

Nearly 10 percent of state offenders incarcerated on gun crimes say the weapons they used were stolen.

Inf.: www.agsfoundation.com.