Earlier this month, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced an initiative to help combat the alarming proliferation of machine gun conversion devices (MCDs), commonly referred to as “switches” or “auto sears,” in communities across the country. This is welcome news.
Here in Chicago, we are at ground zero on this issue. More and more each day, these devices are being used by violent offenders, threatening the public and our police. The data doesn’t lie. The number of MCDs recovered by the Chicago Police Department has skyrocketed from 81 in 2020 to 551 in 2023. This year, we are on pace to surpass 600 recoveries.
These devices, which convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic machine gun, are suspected of being used in the shootings of hundreds of Chicagoans. These devices, particularly the switches used to convert pistols into machine guns, are causing a ripple effect of trauma in our communities, claiming innocent lives. This summer alone, pistol switches have been linked to more than half the mass shootings that occurred in our city, including a Fourth of July shooting. Pistol switches were also suspected of being used in the killings of CPD Officers Aréanah Preston and Luis Huesca and Cook County Sheriff’s Deputy Rafael Wordlaw, all of whom were working to protect our city from this type of senseless violence.
Unleashing a barrage of 30 bullets in less than two seconds causes terrifying carnage. A University of Chicago Crime Lab study found that shooting incidents in Chicago have decreased; however, shootings are becoming more lethal, largely due to the proliferation of MCDs.
Our data supports that study. Shockingly, the number of shell casings recovered at crime scenes has increased by 48% since 2020, and, on average, a machine gun is discharged seven times a day in Chicago. While people are dying, gang members are flaunting their possession and use of these devices against rivals on open-source social media.
Despite this grim reality, possession of a machine gun alone is not a detainable offense under Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, and the absence of pretrial incarceration for mere possession emboldens criminals. Make no mistake. There is no lawful reason to possess a machine gun conversion device in Chicago — or anywhere. When a criminal modifies a firearm with an MCD, they do it to generate maximum harm to their victims. Again, the data supports this: Nearly 50% of recovered MCD-modified firearms are ballistically linked to one or more shooting events.
Increased federal commitment requires collaboration and dedicated investigative resources to prove the elements of the machine gun offenses, a level of partnership already established in Chicago. In April, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), CPD, and our federal, state and local partners opened our Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago (CGIC). Under this partnership, we meet daily to review CPD firearms arrests and shootings that are ballistically linked by the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network and to share intelligence from 13 partner agencies so that we focus our resources on the relatively small number of offenders who drive the most devastating violence. We review any arrest involving an MCD for assignment to a dedicated investigative team. Additionally, ATF and CPD conduct robust operations to try to curtail the sale of these devices in our communities.
A Chicago man was recently sentenced to six years in federal prison for selling 28 MCDs to an undercover agent. This summer, an individual was sentenced to 15 years in prison for possessing a machine gun while participating in a killing. Additionally, the CGIC was recently able to identify a man who was charged for allegedly using an MCD to fire more than 40 rounds outside a Loop convenience store.
The challenges of firearm violence are persistent and now made more deadly by the proliferation of machine guns on our streets. Addressing the challenges of firearm violence, exacerbated by the proliferation of MCDs, necessitates collective accountability in our justice system and concerted action from the community and law enforcement. It is imperative to send a strong message of deterrence to prevent future victims. We cannot let any more families endure the trauma and grief of losing a loved one to senseless gun violence.
Larry Snelling is superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Christopher Amon is the special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Chicago Field Division.
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