When monthly 2011 prosecutions of this type are compared with those of the same period in the previous year, the number of filings was down 7.9 percent, and down 28.8 percent from levels reported in 2006.

Figure 1: Monthly trends in weapons prosecutions

The decrease from the levels five years ago in weapons prosecutions for these matters is shown more clearly in Figure 1. The vertical bars in Figure 1 represent the number of weapons prosecutions of this type recorded on a month-to-month basis. 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 are based upon this six-month moving average.

So far during the first four months of FY 2011 there have been a total of 2,260 federal criminal weapons prosecutions filed by federal prosecutors. On average, this translates into over 7 prosecutions for each million individuals in the country. However, prosecutions vary widely among the 90 federal judicial districts in the United States. The top and bottom districts are listed in Table 2.

The state with the highest rate of federal prosecutions relative to its population was the Southern District of Alabama (Mobile) with four and a half times the rate of prosecutions compared with the average in the country. New Mexico (Albuquerque), the Southern District of Georgia (Savannah), the Western District of Tennessee (Memphis), and Wyoming (Cheyenne) round out the top five.

None of the districts with the largest cities in the country make the top 10. In contrast, those districts ranking in the bottom tier contain a number of large metropolitan areas. These include the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago) ranked 80th, the Central District of California (Los Angeles) ranked 83rd, the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) ranked 85th, Massachusetts (Boston) ranked 86th, and the Northern District of California (San Francisco) ranked 87th.

Lead Investigative Agency

In three out of every four (76%) federal prosecutions during FY 2011, the lead investigative agency was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (see Table 3). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accounted for another 9 percent. State and local authorities were the third most frequent source of investigative referrals with 4.3 percent, followed closely by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with 4.1 percent. The Drug Enforcement Administration was fifth with 2.0 percent.

Top Ten Weapons Charges

The most common lead charge in weapons cases was Title 18 Section 922 of the U.S. Code for unlawful acts involving firearms. This single section accounted for 4 out of every five of the lead charges filed in weapons cases during the first four months of FY 2011. This charge was also ranked first both in FY 2010 and in FY 2009.

Ranked second in frequency was the lead charge "Firearms; Penalties" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 924. This same charge also was second in the rankings in the previous two years.

The third most commonly recorded lead charge were brought under the "Hobbs Act" under Title 18 U.S.C Section 1951. Charges under the "Hobbs Act" have moved up in the rankings over time. Last year the charge was fourth. In FY 2005 it was ranked sixth, while in FY 2000 it was seventh.

Other lead charges among the ten most frequent weapons charges are shown in Table 4.