Savannah just starting to see increase in switches that make pistols more powerful

Savannah is seeing an increase in Glock switches attached to handguns, which turn the semi-automatic pistols into machine pistols with fully automatic firing capability ― although not apace with nationwide trends.

Since 2022, the Savannah Police Department (SPD) has reported four such recoveries, according to incident reports obtained by the Savannah Morning News. SPD didn't report any Glock switch usage from 2016 through 2022, according to the open records request.

According to a report by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the number of devices recovered by law enforcement nationwide increased more than 500 percent between 2017 and 2021. In the period between 2012 and 2016, NPR reported that the ATF recovered 814 machine gun-conversion devices.

Glock switches "are really our number one concern right now," said Thomas Crawford III, resident agent in charge of the ATF Savannah Group One, in a mid-April interview. "Here in Savannah and other places, that's what concerns me the most, because they're being imported from other countries. People have the ability to manufacture and 3-D print those. So, we're seeing more seizures of those."

Crawford attributed the increase to better training. "At a point in time, local law enforcement didn’t know what they were getting... A local officer gets [a firearm fitted with a Glock switch], he or she may not have indication or understanding that ... this is a machine gun conversion device.”

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How is law enforcement addressing the issue?

SPD Spokesperson Neil Penttila said that SPD recently had a session provided by the Dept. of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office and ATF. "It covered ghost guns, Glock switches and other components to make AR and SKS weapon platforms fully automatic."

Barry L. Paschal, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia, confirmed that ATF agents have provided training about Glock switches to local law enforcement agencies in surrounding counties and cities, including Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Camden, Columbia and McDuffie counties.

"This particular training teaches police officers what to look out for in privately manufactured firearms and autosear devices (Glock switches are the most common, but there are others)," said Paschal. Usually, Paschal said, a U.S. Attorney will talk about the differences between charging in state and federal court, and what the Attorney's Office requires for a federal case.

"For example, under federal law, possession of the Glock switch itself is chargeable as a machine gun. In Georgia state court, the law requires a firearm that can shoot more than six bullets with a single trigger pull," said Paschal, who added that "budget constraints" are preventing the ATF from holding more trainings this year.

Possession of Glock switch devices violates federal law as illegal possession of a machinegun and carries a penalty up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In Georgia, possession of an illegal weapon, such as a Glock switch, is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Chatham County District Attorney's Office did not respond to an emailed request for an interview about how it prosecutes Glock switch use.

The number of switch reports, however, pales in comparison to the number of 9mm handguns traced to Savannah crimes in 2022 that are not fitted with glock switches. Most of those firearms were purchased from Georgia-based Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealers, including gun shops, pawn shops and sporting goods stores, according to previous reporting by SMN. Other traced firearms include 56 sold at Georgia-based gun shows, 52 sold by kitchen-table dealers and 36 classified as ghost guns, which are homemade firearms created by assembling pieces for a fully functioning weapon.

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Has Savannah seen an uptick in Glock switches on handguns