Breaking the Polymer Pipeline: The Queens County District Attorney’s Office is a National Leader in the Fight Against Ghost Guns
In 2021, District Attorney Katz created the Queens County District Attorney’s Office’s first Crime Strategies & Intelligence Bureau (CSIB), tasked with instituting a proactive intelligence-based approach to crime prevention. Since then, the Office’s model of identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the manufacturers and distributors of homemade weapons has become a national standard for the fight against ghost guns.
- By:
- The Queens County District Attorney's Office
Table of Contents
Ghost Gun Recoveries in NYC
With a goal of identifying and interrupting crime trends before the emergence of a public safety crisis, District Attorney Katz directed CSIB to tackle the use of unserialized and untraceable personally manufactured firearms – also known as “ghost guns” – which were just beginning to come on the radar of local law enforcement in 2020. Since 2021, Queens County has accounted for 38% of all ghost guns recovered citywide, more than any other borough. Consequently, the Office has emerged as a national subject matter expert in personally manufactured firearms, providing training to law enforcement agencies across the country, and filing anAmicus Curiae Brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in support of Federal Regulations to stem the flow of untraceable ghost guns.
Queens County DA: Proactive Ghost Gun Investigations
CSIB’s successful investigation and prosecution of numerous ghost gun manufacturers and traffickers has contributed to Queens County leading New York City in the total number of ghost gun recoveries. In under four years, the Queens DA's Office’s strategy has led to the investigation and prosecution of more than 50 individuals for manufacturing, possessing and/or distributing personally manufactured firearms. As noted below, not only have these investigations led to the recovery of hundreds of ghost guns, but they have also led to the recovery of hundreds of commercially manufactured firearms as well.
Along with the hundreds of firearms that we removed from the streets, our proactive and ground-breaking ghost gun investigations have also resulted in the recovery of hundreds of firearm accessories, all of which are sophisticated and often homemade items that allow these dangerous ghost guns to be modified into even deadlier and more accurate firearms. Additionally, 1,190 large capacity ammunition feeding devices and more than 140,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Op-Eds and Podcasts
Emerging as a national leader in the fight against ghost guns, District Attorney Katz has penned several Op-Eds on this topic, and appeared in a technology podcast hosted by NYU Professor Marc Beckman.