Justice Department Releases New Training to Focus on Detecting Machine Gun Conversion Devices
WASHINGTON ― The Department of Justice announced today that the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have collaborated to release a new training module on detecting machine gun conversion devices as part of its National Public Safety Partnership Virtual Academy. The training supports the Department’s comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence in communities across the country.
The free, online, on-demand course is available to all sworn law enforcement officers across the country.
“Although violent crime as a whole has dropped significantly across the nation, gun violence continues to claim far too many lives and traumatize too many communities,” said OJP Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent J. Cohen. “This new training course – part of a Department of Justice-wide effort to keep illegal weapons out of dangerous hands – will give front-line officers the knowledge and skills to identify these lethal devices and reduce the risks they face when responding to gun crime.”
A machine gun conversion device is a part, or a combination of parts, designed to modify a semi-automatic firearm so it is capable of firing automatically more than one shot by a single function of the trigger.[1] These devices, often called “switches,” “chips” or “auto sears,” are considered machine guns under the law. The use of machine gun conversion devices poses a significant public safety risk. In the last five years, ATF has recovered more than 31,000 machine gun conversion devices.
“Decades ago, Congress banned, except in rare circumstances, new machine guns in the United States, yet all across the country, chiefs, sheriffs and troopers are telling me they’re confronting fully automatic weapons with increasing regularity,” said ATF Director Steven Dettelbach. “And we have the data to support their experiences. In the decade before 2021, ATF saw a 570% increase in conversion device recoveries. To be clear – making, selling and just having a machine gun ‘conversion device’ is against the law. This training gets to the heart of the problem – the increasing demand for machine guns presents a significant public safety danger, and it is unsafe for law enforcement, as well, who are increasingly outgunned by the weaponry they face.”
Working collaboratively, ATF and BJA developed the training course, which is designed to familiarize law enforcement officers with these conversion devices for both enforcement of gun laws and officer safety. Conversion devices can convert semiautomatic pistols and rifles to machine guns in less than 60 seconds. ATF’s expertise was critical to ensuring that the course reflects the most current information, techniques, and strategies to address these conversion devices.
Conversion devices are advertised using misleading names and deceptive descriptions intended to avoid detection by law enforcement and defeat protocols used by internet vendors. Often, the devices are advertised with the false assertion that the purchase and possession of the devices are lawful. This is not true. The possession, manufacture, and/or sale of machine gun conversion devices without proper licensing is a federal offense punishable by severe penalties, including up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000. A conversion device on its own is considered an illegal machine gun under federal law and cannot be possessed, even without a pistol or rifle.
“Machine gun conversion devices pose a significant threat to public safety. The virtual academy course offers an innovative way for law enforcement to familiarize themselves with the varying appearances of conversion devices and aid in their proper identification in the field,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “This curriculum is a critical tool for law enforcement to continue their education related to firearms. The goal of this course is to minimize risk when encountering these devices during police operations.”
The Machine Gun Conversion Devices course is part of a larger suite of online training courses offered by BJA’s PSP Virtual Academy. These offerings provide valuable learning opportunities in a convenient, contemporary platform to all law enforcement officers. The current course offerings include:
- Law Enforcement Guide to Crime Guns
- Ghost Guns: Identifying and Tracing Privately Made Firearms
- GunStat: A Data-Driven Approach to Address Gun Violence
- Navigating NIBIN Leads via the GETS System
- Crime S.C.E.N.E. Excellence
- Three Dimensions of Constitutional Policing
Understanding the importance of making the most of training time, many Virtual Academy courses are accredited by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training for students to obtain continuing education credits. Any law enforcement professional interested in enrolling can submit a request via the PSP website at www.nationalpublicsafetypartnership.org/academy.
About the Office of Justice Programs
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation's capacity to prevent and reduce crime; advance equity and fairness in the administration of justice; assist victims; and uphold the rule of law. More information about OJP and its program offices – the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office for Victims of Crime, and SMART Office – can be found at www.ojp.gov.
[1] On June 14, 2024, the United States Supreme Court held that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not meet the definition of a “machinegun” as defined under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) of the National Firearms Act. Cargill v. United States, 144 S. Ct. 222 (2024). The holding is limited to the non-mechanical bump stocks at issue in this case and does not impact the machinegun conversion devices covered in this training.
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CONTACT: OJP Media at ojpmedia@usdoj.gov