Authorities in the District announced Monday the temporary expansion of a monetary reward aimed at helping police find and seize untraceable “ghost guns” made from home kits, as well as firearms that are modified to fire as fully automatic.

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       The reward — which now can reach $7,500 with the addition of federal funding — is linked to police recovering a firearm and making an arrest, but it no longer requires a conviction.

       Officials said at a news conference that they hope these new incentives will lead to more tips and the recovery of more illegal firearms, and fewer shootings. The change comes as homicides are rising in the District for the fourth consecutive year.

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       Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said D.C. police have taken more than 2,000 illegal guns off the streets this year, more than in all of 2020.

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       “Unfortunately, there are still lot of them out there,” Bowser said at the news conference at Crispus Attucks Park in Northwest Washington’s Bloomingdale neighborhood. “We want to get them before someone uses them to kill somebody else.”

       D.C. has traditionally offered $2,500 rewards for tips that lead to illegal firearms, though receiving the money had been contingent on an arrest and prosecution.

       D.C. police see rise in devices that convert guns into fully automatic weapons

       On Monday, Charlie J. Patterson, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Washington field office, said his agency is adding $5,000 to the District’s reward.

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       To qualify for the bonus, the tip must lead to the seizure of a “ghost gun” — such firearms do not have serial numbers, making them nearly impossible to trace to previous owners or to other crimes — or the seizure of a gun equipped with an auto sear, sometimes called a “giggle switch,” that can be installed in trigger mechanisms, turning a semiautomatic handgun into a fully automatic gun.

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       Fully automatic mode allows a shooter to rapidly fire bullets, which authorities say is contributing to the high number of killings in the District. Police say that while shootings are down this year compared with 2020, a greater percentage of shooting victims are dying.

       “These illegal weapons and parts on our streets are detrimental to the safety and well-being of the community, and we know the consequences all too often,” Patterson said.

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       The increased reward, which will be offered through the end of this year, “is a plea for help," Patterson said.

       D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said allowing people to claim a reward without hinging it on an eventual conviction means that “everybody remains anonymous," possibly removing barriers for people who don’t want to be called to testify.

       He said having the gun will enable police to investigate links to other crimes and other people who may have had or used the weapon in the past.

       Contee said firearms in the District tend to get passed from one person to another, and are used in unconnected crimes throughout the city.

       “How many lives are taken and lives disrupted or destroyed by the results of one firearm?” Contee said.