Weapons Convictions for August 2017
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during August 2017 the government reported 738 new weapons convictions. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this number is up 31.6 percent over the previous month.
The comparisons of the number of defendants convicted for weapons-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (see Table 1).
When monthly 2017 convictions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of convictions was up (18.5%). Convictions over the past year are still much higher than they were five years ago. Overall, the data show that convictions of this type are up 7.5 percent from levels reported in 2012.
The leveling out from the levels five years ago in weapons convictions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of weapons convictions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. Where a prosecution was initially filed in U.S. Magistrate Court and then transferred to the U.S. District Court, the magistrate filing date was used since this provides an earlier indicator of actual trends. The superimposed line on the bars plots the six-month moving average so that natural fluctuations are smoothed out. The one and five-year rates of change in Table 1 and in the sections that follow are all based upon this six-month moving average. To view trends year-by-year rather than month-by-month, see TRAC's annual report series for a broader picture.
Within the broad category of weapons, cases were classified by prosecutors into more specific types.
Case types within weapons are
Armed Career Criminal Act
Firearms/Triggerlock
Other Operation Triggerlock Prosecutions
The largest number of convictions of these matters in August 2017 was for "Weapons-Operation Triggerlock Major", accounting for 100 percent of convictions. See Figure 2.
The lead investigative agency for weapons convictions in August 2017 was ATF accounting for 64 percent of convictions. Other agencies with substantial numbers of weapons convictions were: FBI (14% ), Local (7%), DHS (4%). See Figure 3.
Weapons Convictions in U.S. Magistrate Courts
Top Ranked Lead Charges
In August 2017, no defendants in weapons cases for these matters were filed in U.S. Magistrate Courts. These courts handle less serious misdemeanor cases, including what are called "petty offenses." In addition, complaints are sometimes filed in the magistrate courts before an indictment or information is entered. In these cases, the matter starts in the magistrate courts and later moves to the district court where subsequent proceedings take place.
Weapons Convictions in U.S. District Courts
In August 2017, 738 defendants in new cases for these matters were charged in the U.S. District Courts. In addition during August there were an additional 0 defendants whose cases moved from the magistrate courts to the U.S. district courts after an indictment or information was filed. The sections which follow cover both sets of cases and therefore cover all matters filed in district court during August.
Top Ranked Lead Charges
Table 2 shows the top lead charges recorded in the convictions of weapons matters filed in U.S. District Court during August 2017.
Lead Charge Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago 18 USC 922 - Firearms; Unlawful acts 599 1 1 1 More 18 USC 924 - Firearms; Penalties 33 2 2 2 More 21 USC 841 - Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A 18 3 4 4 More 18 USC 1951 - Hobbs Act 17 4 3 3 More 26 USC 5861 - Tax on Making Firearms - Prohibited acts 15 5 5 5 More 18 USC 1962 - RICO - prohibited activities 12 6 10 13 More 21 USC 846 - Attempt and conspiracy 6 8 7 6 More 18 USC 554 - Smuggling goods from the United States 5 9 12 7 More 18 USC 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US 3 10 6 7 More 18 USC 844 - Explosives - Importation and storage of explosives 3 10 11 16 More Table 2. Top Charges for Convictions
"Firearms; Unlawful acts" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922) was the most frequent recorded lead charge. "Firearms; Unlawful acts" (Title 18 U.S.C Section 922) was ranked 1 a year ago, while it was ranked 1 five years ago.
Ranked 2nd in frequency was the lead charge "Firearms; Penalties" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 924. "Firearms; Penalties" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 924 was ranked 2 a year ago, while it was ranked 2 five years ago.
Ranked 3rd was "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 841. "Drug Abuse Prevention & Control-Prohibited acts A" under Title 21 U.S.C Section 841 was ranked 4 a year ago, while it was ranked 4 five years ago.
Among these top ten lead charges, the one showing the greatest increase in convictions — up 380 percent — compared to one year ago was Title 18 U.S.C Section 1962 that involves " RICO - prohibited activities ". Compared to five years ago, the largest increase — 800 percent — was registered for convictions under "Other US Code Section " (Title U.S.C Section ).
Again among the top ten lead charges, the one showing the sharpest decline in convictions compared to one year ago — down 37.5 percent — was " Explosives - Importation and storage of explosives " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 844 ). Compared to five years ago, the most significant decline in convictions — 30.8 percent — was for convictions where the lead charge was " Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud US " (Title 18 U.S.C Section 371 ).
Top Ranked Judicial Districts
In August 2017 the Justice Department said the government obtained 275.5 weapons convictions for every ten million people in the United States.
Understandably, there is great variation in the per capita number of weapons convictions in each of the nation's ninety-four federal judicial districts.
The districts registering the largest number of convictions per capita for these matters last month are shown in Table 3. Districts must have at least 5 weapons convictions to receive a ranking.
Judicial District Percapita Count Rank 1yr ago 5yrs ago Ala, S 2,563 18 1 30 18 More Okla, N 1,362 12 2 63 58 More Montana 1,162 10 3 24 55 More Mo, W 1,144 30 4 3 13 More Utah 1,081 27 5 22 27 More N Car, M 1,065 26 6 6 13 More N. Y., S 1,051 46 7 33 31 More Wyoming 1,024 5 8 53 60 More S Dakota 995 7 9 57 78 More Tenn, W 838 11 10 9 12 More Table 3. Top 10 Districts (per ten million people)
The Southern District of Alabama (Mobile) — with 2563 convictions as compared with 275.5 convictions per ten million population in the United States — was the most active during August 2017.
The Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa) ranked 2nd.
District of Montana is now ranking 3rd.
Recent entrants to the top 10 list were Utah , now ranked 5th , and Montana at 3rd In the same order, these districts ranked 22nd and 24th one year ago and 27th and 55th five years ago.
The federal judicial district which showed the greatest growth in the rate of weapons convictions compared to one year ago — 331.4 percent — was Southern District of New York (Manhattan). This was the same district that had the largest increase — 268.3 percent — when compared with five years ago.
In the last year, the judicial District Court recording the largest drop in the rate of weapons convictions — 23.3 percent — was Middle District of North Carolina (Greensboro). But over the past five years, Southern District of Alabama (Mobile) showed the largest drop — 23.1 percent.
Top Ranked District Judges
At any one time, there are about 680 federal District Court judges working in the United States. The judges recorded with the largest number of new weapons crime cases resulting in convictions of this type during August 2017 are shown in Table 4.
Judge Count Rank Kaplan, Lewis A. N. Y., S 15 1 More Cain, Timothy Martin S Car 11 2 More Fenner, Gary A. Mo, W 10 3 More Eagles, Catherine Caldwell N Car, M 9 4 More O'Connor, Reed Charles Texas, N 9 4 More Granade, Callie V. Ala, S 8 6 More Schroeder, Thomas D. N Car, M 8 6 More DuBose, Kristi K. Ala, S 7 8 More Winmill, B. Lynn Idaho 6 9 More Phillips, Mary Elizabeth Mo, W 6 9 More Caproni, Valerie Elaine N. Y., S 6 9 More Schreier, Karen E. S Dakota 6 9 More Junell, Robert A. Texas, W 6 9 More Parrish, Jill N. Utah 6 9 More Table 4. Top Ten Judges
A total of 10 out of the "top ten" judges were in districts which were in the top ten with the largest number of weapons convictions per capita, while the remaining 4 judges were from other districts. (Because of ties, there were a total of 14 judges in the "top ten" rankings.)
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) ranked 1st with 15 convicted in weapons convictions.
Judge Timothy Martin Cain in the District of South Carolina ranked 2nd with 11 convicted in weapons convictions.
Judge Gary A. Fenner in the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City) ranked 3rd with 10 convicted in weapons convictions.
Report Generated: September 19, 2017
