The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is partnering with D.C.’s police department to offer more reward money in hopes of getting illegal guns off the streets. ​​The ATF is offering up to $5,000 through the end of 2021 on top of MPD’s usual award of up to $2,500 for anyone who provides information that leads to the recovery of an illegal firearm.

The new initiative comes in a year with the greatest number of homicides in the District since 2004. About 200 people have been killed this year, according to MPD data.

“Some people may say, ‘Hey chief, why do we want to pay so much?'” Police Chief Robert Contee said of the up to $7,500 reward. “Because it’s that important. How much is a life worth? … How many lives are disrupted and destroyed as a result of the use of that one firearm?”

Contee, the ATF, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the new initiative Monday at Crispus Attucks Park in Bloomingdale. Bowser said the new process was designed because one of the most effective ways to prevent crime and and save lives is to, “get guns out of the hands of people who have no business having a gun in their possession.”

Previously, the gun owner would need to be convicted in court in order for the tipster to get a reward, but now they’ll receive it after the cops get the gun and make an arrest. Tipsters no longer need to testify in court, Contee said, something that may have prevented people from coming forward in the past.

Police recovered 2,000 illegal guns last year. But only a fraction of those — 38 — came from tipsters. The District distributed a total of $48,350 in rewards for those cases in fiscal year 2020.

Illegal firearms include privately made firearms — better known as “ghost guns” — and handgun conversion devices that can make a handgun fire faster, commonly referred to as “Auto Sears” or “Glock Switches.”

This is the latest District effort to reduce the city’s gun violence, which Bowser earlier this year declared a public health emergency. She also hired a new director of gun violence prevention and put $15 million towards funding Building Blocks D.C., which focuses resources on 151 blocks where more than 40% of gun violence incidents in 2020 too place. Bowser and the council also directed additional funding to violence interrupters as part of next year’s budget. She has butted heads with the council on some of these projects, however: Most recently, the council halved her proposed funds to hire additional police officers, opting to put half the funding towards violence interruption efforts.

“In order to protect the safety and well-being of all District residents and visitors, we need to interrupt the illegal market of firearms,” Contee said. “We all have a responsibility to prevent, interrupt, and prosecute gun violence to make our communities safer. Our partnership with the ATF demonstrates the severity of the issue and highlights the urgency of combating this community threat.”

People can call an anonymous tip line at 202-727-9099 or text 50411 to make reports. More information is available on the police department’s website.