A report issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reveals that licensed gun makers built 11.3 million firearms in 2020, a 187 percent increase over the number they made in 2000, reports the Wall Street Journal. The majority of guns used in crime are built by manufacturers and often fall into the hands of criminals through theft, with licensed dealers reporting thefts involving 39,147 guns between 2016 and 2020 and losses of 45,346 firearms over that same time.
Meanwhile, police recovered 19,344 ghost guns in criminal investigations in 2021, up from just 1,758 in 2016, which are increasingly being used in crimes because they can’t be traced in criminal investigations and because they can be purchased without a background check. A Justice Department official said that greater availability of firearms in general means more are available for use in robberies, murders and other illegal acts. The report also recommends that the ATF hire more employees to inspect gun dealers. It found that the agency has just 655 inspectors responsible for regulating 88,302 licensees.