Those who profit from illegally arming violent criminals and perpetuating the cycle of violence, victimization, and suffering are a special breed of bad guy. Firearms Trafficking, A Guide for Criminal Investigators, helps criminal investigators set their sights on armed violent criminals and those who traffic the crime guns that fuel this violence. This comprehensive text that provides insight into all aspects of firearms trafficking and armed violent crime investigation and easily keeps the readers interest with real-life case examples demonstrating the successful application of all the techniques discussed. This book is intended for criminal justice students, colleges and universities, criminal investigators in the U.S. and abroad, law enforcement academies, law enforcement executives, researchers, strategic planners, and policy makers.

An Investigator's Guide to Organized Crime gives readers the kind of real-world knowledge that professional investigators use to conduct investigations into organized crime. Designed to serve as both a textbook and a guidebook for investigative field work, the text focuses on information that will be immediately applicable in the working world. The book begins with a general overview of the globalization of organized crime. Each chapter that follows is devoted to a specific topic beginning with common state violations that are associated with participation in organized crime. Students learn about racketeering and corruption, criminal organizations including street, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gangs, and trafficking in humans, drugs, and firearms. There are also chapters on money laundering, criminal intelligence, common federal statutes related to organized crime, and the process of conducting a criminal investigation. Written for pre-professional law enforcement officials, An Investigator's Guide to Organized Crime is well-suited to courses in criminal justice programs. The book is also an excellent training and reference guide for those already in the field.

While it has always been legal for a citizen in the United States to manufacture their own firearm, the sale and distribution of such items is illegal under current U.S. law. The primary impediment to individuals making their own weapons has been access to the tooling and machinery required to convert raw materials into finished parts for assembly. However, in the last fifteen years this paradigm has changed drastically. Home builders and companies have emerged to support individuals who choose to produce their own firearm. Kits with receivers and gun components are available for hobbyists, as are 3-D printable gun designs, downloadable from the Internet in some cases. This phenomenon has led to the term ghost guns: firearms whose existence is not reported to any third party and therefore whose existence is unknown and, largely, untraceable. A Field Guide to Ghost Guns: For Police and Forensic Investigators provides a useful brief for field investigators on the technical aspects of the self-made firearm, so-called "ghost guns. The first book to focus on the emergent issue of ghost guns, coverage addresses the history of firearms making and manufacture in the U.S.—including regulated and nonregulated manufacturing, details firearm components and accessories, how to assemble a Firearm, an overview of common Types of ghost guns, and investigative considerations. Though there have been increased calls to regulate guns in the wake of numerous mass shootings, the proliferation of ghost guns—and their increasing use in crimes—would likely require additional laws and regulatory measures. Since there are few knowledgeable firearm practitioners in the field, who can render qualified opinions on the subject, author Robb Walker has taken a practical, pragmatic approach to the topic. The book defines terminology, provides photographs, and explains the concepts surrounding homemade firearm in clear, easy to understand terms. Key Features: Addresses the technology and technical aspects in creating, assembling, and/or modifying homemade firearms—both printable and assembled from pre-fabricated components Discusses the rationale and motivations behind making one’s own firearm Outlines what is currently legal and illegal under U.S. law, providing indicators for investigators for illegally configured firearms A Field Guide to Ghost Guns addresses the pressing need for a practical reference on the topic. The book provides police investigators and forensic ballistics experts a useful aid to understand legal aspects and to identify ghost guns, and the paraphernalia—tooling and machinery, and otherwise—indicative of gun making in a non-formal, factory setting.

Firearms: Global Perspectives on Consequences, Crime and Control explores the many dimensions of the illicit use of firearms across the globe, including legal, social science, technical and research perspectives on the issue. Employing a global set of case studies, the book introduces students to the core issues related to the trafficking, manufacture, availability and criminal use of firearms, as well as firearms markets, national and international legal frameworks to control firearms, the response of the criminal justice system, the role of civil society in affecting change and how students can get involved through research and action. Firearms will be of great interest to students of Criminology, Criminal Justice, International Law, International Development, Policing, Crime Control and Community Safety.

According to the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the lead federal agency responsible for stopping the illegal flow of firearms, or gun trafficking, from the United States to Mexico. ATF has developed a nationwide strategy to reduce firearms trafficking and violent crime by seeking to prevent convicted felons, drug traffickers, and juvenile gang members from acquiring firearms from gun traffickers. These criminals often acquire firearms from persons who are otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms, or by buying firearms from corrupt federal firearms licensees (FFLs) who sell firearms off-the-books in an attempt to escape federal regulation. ATF also reports that Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are increasingly sending enforcers across the border to hire surrogates (straw purchasers) who buy several "military-style" firearms at a time from FFLs. The DTOs also reportedly favor pistols chambered to accommodate comparatively large cartridges that are capable of piercing through armor vests usually worn by law enforcement officers, and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Less frequently, but no less troubling to law enforcement, the DTOs have also sought .50 caliber sniper rifles that are capable of penetrating bullet proof glass and lightly armored vehicles. ATF reports that there are around 6,700 FFLs in the United States operating in the Southwest border region of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. By inspecting the firearms transfer records that FFLs are required by law to maintain, ATF investigators are often able to trace crime guns from their domestic manufacturer or importer to the first retail dealer that sold those firearms to persons in the general public, generating vital leads in criminal investigations. In addition, by inspecting those records, ATF investigators sometimes discover evidence of illegal, off-the books transfers, straw purchases, and other patterns of suspicious behavior. During FY2006 and FY2007, ATF dedicated approximately 100 special agents (SAs) and 25 industry operations investigators (IOIs) to a Southwest border initiative known as "Project Gunrunner" to disrupt the illegal flow of guns from the United States into Mexico. By the end of FY2008, ATF had deployed 146 SAs and 68 IOIs to the Southwest border to bolster that initiative at a conservatively estimated cost of $32.2 million. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 included an increase of at least $5 million for Project Gunrunner, and the FY2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act includes an additional $14 million for this initiative. Both the House-passed and Senate-reported FY2010 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 2847) would provide ATF with an $18 million increase for Project Gunrunner, an amount equal to the President's request. U.S. firearms laws currently govern the possession and transfer of firearms and provide penalties for the violation of such laws. "Gun trafficking," although not defined by statute, essentially includes the movement or diversion of firearms from legal to illegal markets. This report includes legal analyses of three ATF-investigated, Southwest border gun trafficking cases to illustrate the federal statutes that are typically violated as part of wider gun trafficking schemes. The report also examines anti-gun trafficking proposals introduced in the 110th Congress. So far, no similar proposals have been introduced in the 111th Congress. The report concludes with possible policy questions for Congress regarding the magnitude of Southwest border gun trafficking, the use and significance of ATF crime gun trace data, the possible ratification of an Inter-American Gun Trafficking Convention (CIFTA), and the adequacy of the federal statutes designed to deter and reduce illegal gun trafficking.

This edited book addresses the issues of gun trafficking and gun violence across different regions of the world, including the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It seeks to identify global key trends on gun trafficking and related violence and discuss different enforcement measures. Each chapter is written by teams of distinguished academics and/or experienced practitioners to include practitioner insights and policy proposals on issues related to gun violence and gun trafficking. Chapters offer an overview of violence and recent gun control debates in the regions, enumerate challenges, provide lessons learnt, and recommend policy solutions. An overview of the global small arms trade is provided at the beginning alongside a comparative analysis of common challenges and significant differences across the regions. This book speaks to those in Criminology, International Relations, Public Policy, International Security, Public health and Law, and to civil society organizations, think tanks, research centers, policy analysts and policy makers involved in gun control debates.

This book describes the people, processes, and technologies needed to extract actionable intelligence from the inside, and outside, of crime guns.