Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement official is launching a new initiative to decrease gun trafficking and illegal transfers.
The Track and Trace program is an expansion of the Office of the Attorney General’s existing efforts to combat illegal guns across the state.
“Gun violence is an epidemic,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “It is claiming the lives of 1,500 Pennsylvanians every year.”
Shapiro said the new program is data-driven approach to decrease gun trafficking and to take crime guns out of neighborhoods in the state.
The program will add responsibility for law enforcement, gun retailers, consumers, and gun owners while promoting following existing laws in order to keep people safe.
During a press conference, Shapiro also noted that a majority of gun-related deaths in Pennsylvania are due to suicide.
“62 percent of those gun deaths in Pennsylvania each year are suicides,” Shapiro said.
Nearly 400 illegal guns were recovered statewide during drug busts in 2018.
