Where Criminals Get Their Guns Almost all the police commanders and sheriffs recently responding to a survey by the National Association of the Chiefs of Police report that criminals don't get the guns used in crime from legitimate sources, and that is corroborated by U.S. Justice Department data. Ninety-five percent of the police officials confirm what criminal inmates told the Justice Department, that fewer than one percent of crime guns are acquired from gun shows, where retailers must perform the exact kind of criminal records background check that they would in their own stores. Criminals told researchers that about 80 percent of the time they illegally acquire guns on the street or from acquaintances. They also reported having only a minimal interest in acquiring semi-automatic military-style firearms, according to news reports about the Justice Department study.