Police departments would be required to provide federal authorities with information about guns recovered at crime scenes under new legislation aimed at cracking down on gun trafficking.

The Crime Gun Tracing Act reintroduced Tuesday by Sen. Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Top GOP senator calls for Biden to release list of possible Supreme Court picks MORE (D-Ill.) would require police departments to report how many guns they recovered in the previous year before they become eligible for federal funding.

This comes as part of an effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to trace guns used in crimes.

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Law enforcement agencies can tap into the ATF’s gun tracing database as they investigate crimes, but Durbin said less than one-third of police departments use it as a resource.

His legislation would encourage more police departments to participate as a condition of federal funding.

“One of the most basic tools to fight gun violence is tracing crime guns. Because we already have a federal program that traces crime guns, this important tool costs the police nothing. Yet not every police department or sheriff’s office uses it,” Durbin said.

Police department would be required to indicate how many guns they recovered in the previous year, how many were sent to the ATF for tracing, and the reason why any guns were not submitted, as a condition of federal funding.

This will encourage more police departments to participate in the program, Durbin reasoned.

“Solving violent gun crimes and targeting crime gun trafficking networks are among the highest law enforcement priorities for our nation,” Durbin said. “Increasing the use of crime gun tracing will help law enforcement catch criminals and shut down illegal trafficking organizations."

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