https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/suficspi16.pdf
Interesting parts
Based on the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates
(SPI), about 1 in 5 (21%) of all state and federal
prisoners reported that they had possessed or
carried a firearm when they committed the offense
for which they were serving time in prison
(figure 1)
.
More than 1 in 8 (13%) of all prisoners had used
a firearm by showing, pointing, or discharging it
during the offense for which they were imprisoned.
Fewer than 1 in 50 (less than 2%) of all prisoners had
obtained a firearm from a retail source and possessed,
carried, or used it during the offense for which they
were imprisoned.
An estimated 287,400 prisoners had possessed a
firearm during their offense. Among these, more than
half (56%) had either stolen it (6%), found it at the
scene of the crime (7%), or obtained it of the street
or from the underground market (43%). Most of
the remainder (25%) had obtained it from a family
member or friend, or as a gift. Seven percent had
purchased it under their own name from a licensed
firearm dealer.
The much hyped "gun show loophole" turns out to be a much smaller problem than the utter failure of background checks at licensed gun dealers. I already went over this in one of the school shooting threads where a kid who was committed to a mental institution (automatic red flag on background checks) among other things failed to trip any flags when they ran his background check. Also note how common it is to get guns off the black market or through friends & family.Among prisoners who possessed a firearm during the
offense for which they were imprisoned, 7% of state
and 10% of federal prisoners serving a sentence in 2016
bought or traded for the firearm from a gun shop or
gun store. About 1% bought or traded for the firearm
at a gun show. About a quarter (26%) of state prisoners
and about a ffh (21%) of federal prisoners obtained a
firearm that they possessed during their offense from
an individual in a non-retail setting, such as a friend or
family member.
Prisoners who reported that they had purchased or
traded a firearm at a retail source were asked if they
had obtained the firearm from a licensed dealer or
private seller. Among prisoners who had possessed a
firearm during the offense for which they were serving
time, 8% of state and 11% of federal prisoners had
purchased it from or traded with a licensed firearm
dealer at a retail source
(table 6)
.
Prisoners who reported that they had purchased a
firearm from a licensed firearm dealer at a retail source
were further asked whether they bought the firearm
under their own name and whether they knew a
background check was conducted. Among those who
had possessed a firearm during the offense for which
they were imprisoned, 7% of state and 8% of federal
prisoners had purchased it under their own name
from a licensed firearm dealer at a retail source, while
approximately 1% of state and 2% of federal prisoners
had purchased a firearm from a licensed dealer at a
retail source but did not purchase it under their own
name (not shown in table).
Among all prisoners who purchased or traded a
firearm from a licensed firearm dealer at a retail source
(8.2%), the majority reported that a background check
was conducted (6.7%)