The Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) was led by the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevent ...

(ATF) during the late-1990s. The program aimed to increase firearm tracing of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s recovered by

law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEA ...

, learn more about how juveniles and youth obtain firearms, and develop strategies to deal with problems involving illegally obtained firearms.

Overview

The Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative was established on July 8, 1996 by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. The program was funded through support from the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Enforcement and the

National Institute of Justice The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the United States Department of Justice. NIJ, along with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenil ...

. The initiative involved collaboration between local law enforcement agencies, local

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

s, the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

's Offices, and the ATF, in tracing firearms recovered by law enforcement. Information learned through the YCGII include: * Types of firearms most frequently recovered by police? * Which

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

s these weapons are associated with? * How long it takes for firearms to move from a

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

firearms dealer to recovery by police? * Which states are the source of these firearms? YCGII also looked at differences in illegal firearms activity among adults, juveniles, and youths. The ATF also worked with state and local officials to improve reporting and data collection on recovered firearms and tracing. In 1997, 17 cities across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

participated in the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative. By 2000, the number of participating jurisdictions increased to 50.

References

External links

Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative
{{crime-stub Law enforcement operations in the United States