LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Metro Police Department said it's seeing an alarming increase in Glock switches, or machine-gun conversion devices, in Jefferson County.
These tiny devices turn any handgun into an automatic weapon in seconds. However, without a state law, there's not much the department can do about it.
"When you've pulled the trigger, it doesn't stop firing rounds," Deputy Chief Emily McKinley said Wednesday. "They have a fully automatic firearm that can fire 15 bullets in less than a second. It's easy to have a reckless spray of gunfire when you have a Glock switch."
These deadly devices are on on Louisville's streets, and are making their way into the hands of young people.
Humphrey said the average age of someone in possession of these devices has "drastically dropped" from 29 years old in 2023 to 21 years old in 2025.
These tiny devices turn any handgun into an automatic weapon in seconds.
"We're not talking about something that helps with accuracy, self defense, or home defense," LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey said. "We're talking about something that makes the weapon far less accurate and far more dangerous to everyone around."
Humphrey said a lot of these switches come from overseas and online.
"This is something you can order easily off the internet from kids making them in their basement on a 3D printer," he said.
It's a big challenge for his police department.
"There is nothing we can do but give that back to them," Humphrey said. "We have no ability to seize that weapon or charge anyone criminally."
Though these switches are banned under federal law, LMPD can't enforce it without a state law.
That's why Humphrey took a trip to Frankfort in September to advocate for a state law. He wants it to be a Class C felony to use a glock switch in Kentucky. That conviction carries a penalty of 5 to 10 years in prison.
Some state lawmakers, like Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, recognize the need.
"It's already unlawful," Nemes said. "It does not take away anybody's right that they currently have."
Others, however, are hesitant.
"I think our energy is better spent actually expanding this right to self defense rather than further imposing restrictions that are already illegal at the federal level," Republican Rep. T.J. Roberts said.
In LMPD's First Division, officers have recovered more than 250 illegally possessed guns so far this year. Maj. Bryan Edelen said many were stolen, and came from convicted felons and minors.
Some have also had Glock switches attached.
"I don't know an exact number," Edelen said. "It's definitely higher than any of us would have expected at this point."
LMPD can only confiscate the devices if a suspect legally can't have a gun or it's used in a violent crime.
Humphrey said officer seized 31 switches in Jefferson County in 2023. That number jumped to 80 in 2024, and roughly 40 more have been taken off the streets this year.
Humphrey believes cracking down on these devices could be the key to curbing Louisville's most brutal crimes.
"If this law were to pass, we would actually see our numbers of seizures probably go up drastically," he said.
Nemes plans to file a bill when lawmakers reconvene in early 2026.
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