A new report by the anti-gun violence nonprofit Everytown details the sharp spike in guns being stolen from vehicles across the United States over the past decade, and found that three Virginia cities were in the top 10 in 2022.
Using FBI data from 337 cities across 44 states, Everytown found that gun thefts from vehicles rose from an estimated 21 thefts per 100,000 people to 63.1 per 100,000 in 2022, the most recent year included in the data. Memphis had the highest rate with 350.8 thefts per 100,000 people; Richmond was fourth with 218.3 thefts per 100,000 people.
Portsmouth was sixth with 196.1 thefts per 100,000 people; Norfolk was in ninth with 181.9 thefts per 100,000 people.
The report includes data on the rate of gun thefts from vehicles from 2013 to 2022 for 11 Virginia cities, including Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. Each Hampton Roads city saw a spike in 2019 or 2020 — which is consistent with the national trend which saw a spike of 51% during the pandemic — and while some had dips along the way, Portsmouth’s uptick started in 2015 and rose consistently since.
Suffolk saw a major drop off in gun thefts from vehicles from 2021 to 2022 from a peak of 47.2 thefts per 100,000 people to 20 thefts per 100,000, which is below its 2016 rate.
• Chesapeake — 27 thefts per 100,000 to 52.1 from 2013 to 2022; largest spike was from 29.1 thefts per 100,000 in 2015 to 43.7 in 2016
• Hampton — 39.4 thefts per 100,000 to 123.9 from 2013 to 2022; largest spike was from 76.2 in 2020 to 104.6 in 2021
• Newport News — 27.6 thefts per 100,000 to 79.9 from 2013 to 2022; largest spike was from 43 in 2015 to 60 in 2016
• Norfolk — 35.6 thefts per 100,000 to 181.9 from 2013 to 2022; largest spike was from 124.1 in 2021 to 181.9 in 2022
• Portsmouth — 43.8 thefts per 100,000 to 196.1 from 2013 to 2022; largest spike was from 39.5 in 2015 to 72.9 in 2016
• Suffolk — 16.5 thefts per 100,000 to 20 from 2013 to 2022, but peaked at 47.2 in 2021; largest spike was from 26.6 in 2019 to 38.3 in 2020
• Virginia Beach — 24.7 thefts per 100,000 to 53.3 from 2013 to 2022; largest spike was from 34.2 in 2019 to 47.9 in 2020
Gun violence experts track the origins of stolen guns closely because the majority of gun homicides and assaults are committed with stolen or illegal guns. Out of all gun thefts, about 25% were from cars in 2013 but in 2022 more than 50% of them were, according to Everytown.
The report also notes other significant findings in the gun theft data. The increase in gun thefts from vehicles isn’t associated with an increase in thefts from vehicles overall, a trend which dropped 11% over the past decade. The danger of a particular location where a car is parked is also not considered a factor: out of 159 cities, 36% of vehicle thefts of guns happened at or near people’s homes, 20% were from cars parked on the road, 32% were from parking lots.
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
