"This is a problem in Philadelphia" ATF Director talks crime, guns, illegal trafficking
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Action News reporter Maggie Kent sat down one-on-one with the national director of the ATF, Steve Dettelbach. He provides insight on gun trafficking in the Delaware Valley and the latest issues on the agency's radar.
In the Essington section of Philadephia, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives fires a recovered crime gun into this specialized NIBIN machine. He'll then examine the cartridge, and more importantly, the markings left behind.
"We're able to use technology to get a fingerprint of the expended cartridge of a crime gun by putting it into a NIBIN machine, the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network," said Dettelbach. "It really allows us to run almost a criminal history of the gun, to link together one murder with another shooting."
It's one part of an arsenal of crime-fighting tools used to stop gun crimes and trafficking.
There is a lot to tackle. First up is the exponential rise in illegal ghost - or privately manufactured - guns.
Gun parts can be sold legally, but once an untraceable gun is assembled, it becomes an issue.
"Right here in Philadelphia, just this year in 2023, well over 300, over 400 ghost guns were recovered here," said Director Dettelbach.
As evidenced by the crime scenes we cover, shooters are unloading more ammunition than ever. Illegal bump stocks or gun auto switches are becoming an issue.
"In a matter of seconds they can change a legal semi-automatic gun into an illegal machine gun," said Dettelbach.
"This is a problem in Philadelphia, this is not some hypothetical problem. In Philadelphia this year alone, over 100 of these devices have been recovered by police associated with violent acts."
The ATF is only as strong as its partnerships in law enforcement. It has teamed up with the Philadelphia police to catch and federally prosecute carjackers.
"That carjacking task force is now a national model for how we can do better at trying to focus on a particular crime in a particular place in partnership," said Dettelbach.
The ATF is focused on taking down the sellers of the illegal guns and gun add-ons by targeting criminal sellers online, at gun shows, and straw purchasers who supply guns to those legally banned from purchasing them.
