Gun Thefts from Cars: The Largest Source of Stolen Guns – Everytown Research & Policy

In cities that report crime data to the FBI:

• On average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes in the United States.
• The rate of gun thefts from cars is triple what it was a decade ago. This includes both consistent increases nearly every year over the decade and a marked spike during the pandemic. 
• A decade ago, roughly a quarter of gun thefts were from cars; in 2022, over half were.
• Cars parked at residences (in driveways, outside homes, etc.) are the most common source of stolen guns, demonstrating the importance of securely storing guns at all times and locations.
• Cities in states with the weakest gun safety laws see nearly 18 times the rate of gun thefts from cars as those in states with the strongest gun laws.
• Memphis, Tennessee—the city with the highest rate of guns stolen from cars—had over 3,000 gun thefts from vehicles in 2022. A range of cities in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, reported zero gun thefts from cars. 

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.

The majority of gun homicides and assaults involve stolen or illegal guns. But where do these guns come from, and how are they getting into dangerous hands? Research from Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund finds that in cities that report data to the FBI, gun thefts from cars are the largest source of stolen guns. 

In order to understand the scope of the problem, Everytown analyzed crime data from 337 small- to large-size cities across 44 states—covering roughly 63 million people—obtained from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Analyses revealed that in 2022, nearly 112,000 guns were reported stolen in these cities. This is likely a conservative estimate since only a third of US states legally require reporting of lost and stolen guns to law enforcement, and thus thousands of missing guns go unreported annually. While guns can be stolen in a variety of ways and places (e.g., from people’s houses or from gun shops, or individuals directly), in 2022, just over half (51 percent) were stolen from cars. This amounted to nearly 62,000 guns stolen from cars in 2022 across these 337 cities. 

Why do guns stolen from cars merit attention? The principal reason is that these stolen guns are often used in other crimes. Local leaders and law enforcement periodically raise public awareness about the importance of always storing guns securely in cars and locking car doors. And companies sell gun safes for every model of car and truck on the road. But with an average of at least one gun stolen from a car every nine minutes, there is more we must be doing. This report examines trends in gun thefts from cars, explores the role that gun safety laws can play in reducing these thefts, and highlights the policies and practices that can prevent guns from passing from legal hands into the illegal firearms market. 

The rate of gun thefts from cars across FBI-reporting cities tripled over the past decade, rising from an estimated 21.0 thefts per 100,000 people in 2013 to 63.1 per 100,000 in 2022. Over this time, there were fairly consistent annual increases, and a spike of 51 percent during the pandemic. There has also been a major change in where guns have been stolen from over the past decade. A decade ago, the majority of gun thefts were from burglaries of a home or other structure (38 percent), and roughly a quarter (26 percent) were from cars. Since then, the nation has seen a stark increase to over half coming from cars. In fact, the past decade’s overall increase in gun thefts is driven primarily by the rise in gun thefts from cars.

A DECADE AGO, A QUARTER OF GUN THEFTS WERE FROM CARS. IN 2022, OVER HALF WERE.

More research is needed to understand all of the factors that are driving this increase. This data does, however, provide some insights. This trend doesn’t seem to be associated with an increase in thefts from vehicles overall. In fact, the rate of thefts from vehicles overall has decreased 11 percent over the past decade in cities that report data to the FBI while the rate of thefts of guns from vehicles soared over 200 percent. Second, the rise in gun thefts from cars is not likely associated with cars now being parked in different or more dangerous types of locations either. Over the past 10 years, 36 percent of car gun thefts in these 159 cities have occurred at people’s residences, whether in the driveway or near the home of the gun owner or others. 

In cities located in states with the weakest gun safety laws, the rate of gun thefts from cars is nearly 18 times higher than those in states with the strongest laws. In many of these cities, high rates of gun ownership and laws that make it easier to carry guns in public create conditions under which gun thefts from cars may be more likely. Four out of the five cities with the highest rates of gun thefts from cars are in states with particularly weak gun laws. In Memphis, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia, there were an estimated 3,315 and 2,499 guns stolen from cars in 2022, respectively. Both states have weak gun safety laws. This is in marked contrast to the 12 cities with zero guns reported stolen from cars in 2022, like Yonkers in New York; Cambridge, Somerville, Quincy, and Waltham in Massachusetts; and Elizabeth in New Jersey—all in states that lead the nation in the strength of their gun safety laws. 

A clear example of the importance of state policies can be seen in Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee, has the highest rate of gun theft from cars of any American city reported to the FBI. Relative to cities outside the state, cities in Tennessee experienced a sharper increase in their rate of gun thefts from cars over the past decade, leading them to have a higher rate today.

The trends of gun theft from cars in cities inside and outside of Tennessee show a very similar progression prior to 2013, but the rates of gun thefts from cars in Tennessee dramatically increased after 2013. Why? In 2013, Tennessee lawmakers passed a law that allowed handgun carry permit holders to store their firearms in parked vehicles. By 2014, they allowed all legal gun owners to do the same. Incidents of gun theft from vehicles in Tennessee cities since these laws were passed are nearly triple what they were during the prior decade. Since 2013, more than 29,000 firearms have been stolen from vehicles statewide, according to a News Channel 5 Nashville analysis. During this same period, gun homicides increased 85 percent in Tennessee, well surpassing the already unacceptable US trend on gun homicide.

GUN THEFTS FROM CARS ROSE STARKLY IN TENNESSEE’S CITIES

The rate of gun thefts from cars has soared over the past decade and there’s strong evidence that the majority of gun homicides–especially those in cities–involve illegal guns, with theft being one source. So every gun stolen from a car increases the chances it could be used in a violent crime. 

The hopeful news is that we can all play a role in preventing the diversion of guns from the legal market and from ending up behind yellow tape at crime scenes. What are the solutions? 

• Most immediately, gun owners must always lock their vehicles and secure their guns in those vehicles so that they are not visible. There is a gun safe for sale for every make and model of vehicle and devices that make it easier to securely store guns.
• Local elected officials, community leaders, law enforcement, and others must support public awareness campaigns on how to prevent thefts from cars and the acts of violence that can follow. Proactive efforts are underway in a number of cities. In San Antonio, Texas, a nonprofit alliance is raising funds to purchase and distribute car gun safes. Police in Hoover, Alabama, have reported success with their “Lock It or Lose It” public awareness campaign. In some areas, police departments are working with the ATF or the FBI to produce public service announcements, other agencies are making flyers and handouts to raise awareness and are encouraging gun owners to make their cars less visible targets by removing decals or bumper stickers indicating a firearm may be in the vehicle. And the Be SMART program promotes secure storage nationwide to help parents, caretakers, and community leaders have the knowledge and conversations to keep our communities safe. 
• Legislators at all levels must pass laws that are proven to help prevent these thefts. The highest-priority policies are, first, laws that require guns to be securely stored and not visible when left unattended in cars. States including California, Connecticut, and Oregon have done so and can serve as examples. Second, immediate, mandatory reporting of lost and stolen guns enables law enforcement to investigate the theft and any possible gun trafficking, and allows us to better understand where and when these incidents are happening to help focus prevention efforts. Research has shown that these reporting laws can reduce illegal gun movements by 46 percent compared to states without this law.

We know how to prevent these incidents and to save families and communities from the heartbreak and long-lasting trauma of the violence that can result. Now is the time for action.