BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The majority of guns confiscated in New York come from out of state, according to a report released this week by the Attorney General's Office.
One of the biggest challenges for law enforcement is tracking where the illegal guns come from, according to Eric Schneiderman, but he says a new database could change that.
"We have released a unique system that's never been introduced before in any place in the United States called Target on Trafficking, the first of its kind, multi-year analysis of guns recovered by law enforcement," said Schneiderman, D-New York.
The study looked at the state of origin of more than 53,000 guns recovered in New York over a five-year period, from 2010 to 2015.
"Our research found that 74 percent of all guns recovered by law enforcement came from out of state; a rate that is more than twice the national average, and 86 percent of all handguns recovered in New York crime scenes came into New York from out of state," said Schneiderman.
Most of those handguns coming from states referred to by law enforcement as the "Iron Pipeline:" Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio.
"A lot of the numbers law enforcement kind of knew all along but this comprehensive study drills down that data and shows us so much: 59 percent of the 'crime guns' in Erie County originated out of state and 78 percent of all guns came from out of state," said Capt. Dennis Richards, Buffalo Police Department.
Stop the Violence Coalition president Murray Holman says he'd like to see a billboard campaign drive the point of the findings home.
"I just want to see how we're going to make this information known to our community, so guy on the street, the average gangbanger with a gun will see this billboard and might change his mind, saying, 'hold on, this might be traced back to my mother, father, or grandfather, now they can be prosecuted,'" said Holman.
Schneiderman says ultimately, the data will help law enforcement to track down people involved in trafficking guns.
"This is common sense law enforcement. This is enabling our law enforcement officers, our police department to do their jobs this is going to make them safe this is going to make all of us safer," said Schneiderman.