COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to records from the Columbus Division of Police, 75 Glock switches were recovered by officers in 2023. That number was a fourth of that in 2022, with officers recovering 17 of these devices. In 2021, that number was zero.
Daryl S. McCormick, special agent in charge for the Columbus Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, said Glock switches aren’t just a growing problem in Columbus, but in a number of major cities.
"Its a very concerning thing for us in terms of the risk to public safety,” McCormick said.
Glock switches are illegal, tiny devices that can be attached to firearms and make them operate like a machine gun. When in use, they increase the threat a firearm poses to the public.
"The firearm is less controllable, the number of rounds expended is much higher so it creates the risk of innocent people getting hit by gunfire,” McCormick said.
McCormick said there’s two primary ways criminals are gaining access to these devices, through the dark web from overseas, and 3D printers.
Although it's tiny, there are other ways to be able to tell if a gun has a Glock switch attached to it.
"It'll stick out quite a bit. Normally a magazine becomes flush with a hand grip, but this one extends and that's a very key indicator that the Glock switch is attached,” McCormick said.
It's also a problem in other Ohio cities like Cincinnati and Cleveland.
"An initiative we did in Cleveland this year, we seized nearly 60 of these in a 90-day time period,” McCormick said.
But it's not the only threat McCormick said they’re focusing on. AR-15 pistols being found on the streets is also becoming more common.
"Now with AR pistols you get the lethality of a rifle cartridge more concealable,” McCormick said.
Straw purchases are another way firearms end up in the wrong hands. McCormick said a straw purchase is when people with clean records purchase a gun with the intent of giving it to a criminal. He said about 10% of firearms have, what they call, a “time to crime” of about 90 days or less.
"What that means is they were purchased by someone who didn't have a bad record, so could lawfully buy from a licensed gun dealer, and then recovered by law enforcement within 90 days,” McCormick said.
McCormick said his department is also pushing for responsible gun owners to better secure their firearms. This is in an effort to reduce the number of guns being stolen.