ST. LOUIS — A new report from the Illinois State Police says the number of thefts from firearms dealers has dropped by 80%.

“Five years ago, I signed a bipartisan law to combat illegal gun trafficking—and the data ISP released today demonstrates that state oversight works,” said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in a press release. “Too many Illinoisans know the pain of gun violence and the added security measures enforced by ISP are ensuring that guns don’t fall into the wrong hands.”

To help address the problem of illegal firearms, the General Assembly passed the Firearm Dealer License Certification Act (430 ILCS 68), which went into effect Jan. 18, 2019. Under the Act, each certified Federal Firearms License (FFL) dealer was required to have a video security system by Jan. 2, 2021. To help ensure dealers complied, ISP began conducting site visits in 2021, and inspections in 2022.

“Stemming the flow of stolen guns used in crime is one way we are fighting gun violence,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. “Inspections, which ensure firearm dealers have security measures in place, reduces the number of guns stolen often later used to commit violence, and this effort appears to be producing good results.”

Here's a look at the number of firearms stolen after the law went into effect:

• In 2020, 291 firearms were stolen.
• In 2021, 100 firearms were stolen.
• In 2022, 103 firearms were stolen.
• In 2023, 39 firearms were stolen.
• In 2024, 8 firearms were stolen.

Since the implementation of the Act, the number of firearms stolen from dealers has dropped significantly.