Privately made firearms (PMFs) or “ghost guns” are homemade, unserialized, untraceable firearms
that have been increasingly used in violent crime in the United States. Very little is known about the types of PMFs recovered by law enforcement agencies and the crimes associated with these recoveries. This lack of information limits effective violence prevention policies and practices. Comparative analysis of PMF recoveries in specific cities helps clarify whether local PMF patterns and characteristics vary or reflect more general trends. This research advances epidemiological understanding of emergent violent gun injury prevention challenges by identifying variations in recovered PMF types and use in violent, drug, and weapon-related offenses in Los Angeles and San Diego, California.
Ghost Guns and Crime: A Tale of Two California Cities
Alaina De Biasi, Anthony Braga, Brad Velasquez, and Garen Wintemute, May 2024
