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When guns are recovered as part of criminal investigations in California, authorities trace the weapons to their point of origin. Statistics released from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives indicate that in 2009, of the 32,964 guns traced in California, half came from Los Angeles County, according to LA Now."Since 2002, California has required that state and local police agencies trace guns used in crimes through the ATF." Doing so is considered an investigative tool that may help put together a fuller picture of the crime and those involved. But collecting such details can build up a stockpile of information that has other benefits: "Police use the data to determine whether individuals may be trafficking in illegal firearms or catering to gangs and violent felons."
Of course, when looking at numbers and data, there's an opportunity to glean insights into what kind of weapons LA-based criminals favor: "The number of handguns traced in L.A. County, for example, was more than double that of long guns, authorities said."
