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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 The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession 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 and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking and
tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...
of alcohol and
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
products. The ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in
interstate commerce The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amo ...
. Many of the ATF's activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as
Project Safe Neighborhoods Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a national initiative by the United States Department of Justice with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to reduce gun violence in the United States. The project's aim is to ...
. The ATF operates a unique
fire research laboratory The Fire Research Laboratory (FRL) is part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), an investigative agency within the United States Department of Justice.{{Cite web, url=https://www.atf.gov/arson/atf-fire-research-laborat ...
in
Beltsville, Maryland Beltsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The community was named for Truman Belt, a local landowner. The 2020 census counted 20,133 residents. Beltsville includes the unincorporated ...
, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed. The ATF had 5,285 employees and an annual budget of almost $1.5 billion in 2021. The ATF has received criticism over the Ruby Ridge controversy, the Waco siege controversy and others.


History

The ATF was formerly part of the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
, having been formed in 1886 as the "Revenue Laboratory" within the Treasury Department's Bureau of Internal Revenue. The history of ATF can be subsequently traced to the time of the revenuers or "revenoors" and the
Bureau of Prohibition The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the United States federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which enforced the 18th Amendment to the United S ...
, which was formed as a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in 1920. It was made an independent agency within the Treasury Department in 1927, was transferred to the Justice Department in 1930, and became, briefly, a division of the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
in 1933. When the
Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...
, which established Prohibition in the United States, was
repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
ed in December 1933, the Unit was transferred from the Department of Justice back to the Department of the Treasury, where it became the Alcohol Tax Unit (ATU) of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Special Agent
Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. ...
and several members of The "Untouchables", who had worked for the Prohibition Bureau while the Volstead Act was still in force, were transferred to the ATU. In 1942, responsibility for enforcing federal firearms laws was given to the ATU. In the early 1950s, the Bureau of Internal Revenue was renamed " Internal Revenue Service" (IRS), and the ATU was given the additional responsibility of enforcing federal tobacco tax laws. At this time, the name of the ATU was changed to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division (ATTD). In 1968, with the passage of the
Gun Control Act The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA or GCA68) is a U.S. federal law that regulates the firearms industry and firearms ownership. Due to constitutional limitations, the Act is primarily based on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by generall ...
, the agency changed its name again, this time to the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division of the IRS and first began to be referred to by the initials "ATF". In Title XI of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Congress enacted the Explosives Control Act, 18 U.S.C.A. Chapter 40, which provided for close regulation of the explosives industry and designated certain arsons and bombings as federal crimes. The Secretary of the Treasury was made responsible for administering the regulatory aspects of the new law, and was given jurisdiction over criminal violations relating to the regulatory controls. These responsibilities were delegated to the ATF division of the IRS. The Secretary and the Attorney General were given concurrent jurisdiction over arson and bombing offenses. Pub.L. 91-452, 84 Stat. 922, October 15, 1970. In 1972, ATF was officially established as an independent bureau within the Treasury Department on July 1, 1972, this transferred the responsibilities of the ATF division of the IRS to the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
Rex D. Davis Rex Darwin Davis (June 11, 1924 – January 7, 2008) was an American law enforcement official who served as the first director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which later became known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms an ...
oversaw the transition, becoming the bureau's first director, having headed the division since 1970. During his tenure, Davis shepherded the organization into a new era where federal firearms and explosives laws addressing violent crime became the primary mission of the agency. However, taxation and other alcohol issues remained priorities as ATF collected billions of dollars in alcohol and tobacco taxes, and undertook major revisions of the federal wine labeling regulations relating to use of appellations of origin and varietal designations on wine labels. In the wake of the
terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
on the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
and
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
on September 11, 2001, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
, the law shifted ATF from the Department of the Treasury to the
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
. The agency's name was changed to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. However, the agency still was referred to as the "ATF" for all purposes. Additionally, the task of collection of federal tax revenue derived from the production of tobacco and alcohol products and the regulatory function related to protecting the public in issues related to the production of alcohol, previously handled by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as well as by ATF, was transferred to the newly established
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB, is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, which regulates and collects taxes on trade and imports of alcoho ...
(TTB), which remained within the Treasury Department. These changes took effect January 24, 2003.


Activities


1972–2000

Complaints regarding the techniques used by ATF in their effort to generate firearm cases led to hearings before Congressional committees in the late 1970s and 1980s. At these hearings, evidence was received from citizens who had been charged by ATF, from experts who had studied ATF, and from officials of the bureau itself. A Senate subcommittee report stated, "Based upon these hearings it is apparent that ATF enforcement tactics made possible by current federal firearms laws are constitutionally, legally, and practically reprehensible." Cover and pages 19–23 The Subcommittee received evidence that ATF primarily devoted its firearms enforcement efforts to the apprehension, upon technical ''
malum prohibitum ''Malum prohibitum'' (plural ''mala prohibita'', literal translation: "wrong
s or because S, or s, is the nineteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphab ...
prohibited") is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase used in law to refer to conduct that constitutes an unlawful act only by virtue of statute, as opp ...
'' charges, of individuals who lack all criminal intent and knowledge. Evidence received demonstrated that ATF agents tended to concentrate upon collector's items rather than "criminal street guns". In hearings before ATF's Appropriations Subcommittee, testimony was submitted estimating that 75 percent of ATF gun prosecutions were aimed at ordinary citizens with no criminal intent. The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 addressed some of the abuses noted in the 1982 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee report.


Ruby Ridge Siege controversy

The Ruby Ridge Siege began in June 1990.
Randy Weaver Randall Claude Weaver (January 3, 1948 – May 11, 2022) was an American survivalist, former Iowa factory worker, and self-proclaimed white separatist. He was a central actor in the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff at his cabin near Naples, Idaho, t ...
sold two unregistered short barrel shotguns to Kenneth Fadeley, an ATF informant. This transaction was recorded and presented to the court. Weaver refused to face his accusers and became a fugitive from justice. He maintained the barrels were a legal length, but after Fadeley took possession, the shotguns were later found to be shorter than allowed by federal law, requiring registration as a
short-barreled shotgun A sawed-off shotgun (also called a sawn-off shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shorty or a boom stick) is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel—typically under —and often a shortened or absent stock. Despite the colloquial term, b ...
and payment of a $200 tax. ATF firearms charges against Weaver, but offered to drop the charges if he would become an informant. After Weaver refused to cooperate, ATF passed on false information about Weaver to other agencies that became part of a misleading file that profiled Weaver as having explosive booby traps, tunnels, and bunkers at his home; growing marijuana; having felony convictions; and being a bank robber. At his later trial, the gun charges were determined to be entrapment and Weaver was acquitted. However, Weaver missed a February 20, 1991, court date because U.S. Probation Officer Richins mistakenly told Weaver that the trial date was March 20, and the
US Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
(USMS) was charged with bringing Weaver in. Weaver remained with his family in their mountain top cabin. On August 21, 1992, a USMS surveillance team encountered Weaver, a friend and family members on a trail near the cabin, resulting in a shootout that killed US Marshal Bill Degan, Weaver's son Samuel, and Weaver's pet dog. FBI
Hostage Rescue Team The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...
(HRT) members surrounded the cabin. The next day, HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi fired at Weaver, missing and killing Weaver's wife. A subsequent Department of Justice review and a Congressional hearing raised several questions about the actions of ATF, USMS, USAO, and FBI HRT and the mishandling of intelligence at the USMS and FBI headquarters. The Ruby Ridge incident has become a lightning rod for legal activists within the gun rights community. On May 1, 1992, 50 ATF agents were summoned upon to provide extra support for local police departments in Los Angeles County in response to the ongoing
Rodney King riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in So ...
. The next day, the ATF activated its Special Response Team tactical unit to escort firefighters in high-risk areas, pair up with local police in protecting certain establishments, and execute
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...
s for looted firearms. During the riots, a total of 4,690 firearms were looted and stolen; over the next 10 days, ATF recovered few more than 200 firearms.


Waco Siege controversy

The ATF was involved in the
Waco Siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. ...
against the
Branch Davidian The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of ...
religious sect near
Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
, on February 28, 1993. ATF agents, accompanied by the press, conducted a raid to execute a federal search warrant on the sect's compound, known as Mt. Carmel. The Branch Davidians were alerted to the upcoming warrant execution but ATF raid leaders pressed on, despite knowing the advantage of surprise was lost. (ATF Director Steve Higgins had promised Treasury Under Secretary for Enforcement
Ron Noble Ron Noble (born January 25, 1960) is an American politician serving as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 24th district, which covers parts of northern Yamhill County and southern Washington County, including the city of ...
that the Waco raid would be canceled if the ATF undercover agent Robert Rodriguez reported that the element of surprise had been lost.) The resulting exchange of gunfire killed six Davidians and four ATF agents. FBI HRT later took over the scene and a 51-day stand-off ensued, ending on April 19, 1993, after the complex caught fire. The follow-up investigation revealed the bodies of seventy-six people including twenty children inside the compound. A grand jury found that the deaths were suicides or otherwise caused by people inside the building. Shortly after the raid, the bureau's director, Stephen E. Higgins, retired early from his position. In December 1994, two ATF supervisory agents, Phillip J. Chojnacki and Charles D. Sarabyn, who were suspended for their roles in leading the Waco raid were reinstated, with full back pay and benefits (with a demotion) despite a Treasury Department report of gross negligence. The incident was removed from their personnel files.


Domestic terrorism towards ATF

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third ...
cited Ruby Ridge and Waco Siege as his motivation for the
Oklahoma City Bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-federal go ...
, which took place on April 19, 1995, exactly two years after the end of the Waco Siege. McVeigh's criterion for attack sites was that the target should house at least two of three federal law enforcement agencies: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI), and the
Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
(DEA). He regarded the presence of additional law enforcement agencies, such as the
Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
or the U.S. Marshals Service, as a bonus. Until the September 11, 2001, attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing was the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United States, and remains the deadliest incident of domestic terrorism in the country's history. McVeigh was executed for this mass murder by lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.


2000–present

The ATF was criticized for poor planning leading up to a shootout at
Stevenson Ranch, California Stevenson Ranch is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Santa Clarita Valley of Los Angeles County, California. Stevenson Ranch is set in the foothills of the Santa Susana Mountains and lies west of Interstate 5 in California, I ...
, in 2001, which resulted in the immediate deaths of a deputy sheriff as well as the suspect, and the later suicide of ATF agent Jeff Ryan. Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the ATF expanded regulations covering fuels used in amateur rocketry, including
ammonium perchlorate composite propellant Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP) is a solid-propellant rocket fuel. It differs from many traditional solid rocket propellants such as black powder or zinc-sulfur, not only in chemical composition and overall performance but a ...
(APCP). Two rocketry clubs, the
National Association of Rocketry The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is a non-profit tax-exempt scientific organization dedicated to consumer safety, youth education, and the advancement of technology in the hobby of sport rocketry in the United States. Founded in 1957, t ...
(NAR) and the
Tripoli Rocketry Association The Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) is an international organization and one of the two major organizing bodies for high power rocketry in the United States. History Tripoli Rocketry Association was founded in 1964 in the Pittsburgh, Pennsy ...
(TRA), argued that APCP is not explosive and that the ATF's regulations were unreasonable. The NAR and TRA won their lawsuit against the ATF in 2009, lifting the government restrictions. The associations maintain their own restrictions, and rocketry is also regulated by the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
(FAA). Between May 2004 and August 2005, ATF agents, in conjunction with Virginia state, county, and city police, conducted an operation at eight gun shows in the Richmond area to reduce straw purchases for criminals. In a February 2006 House subcommittee hearing, the show's owner said: "People were approached and discouraged from purchasing guns. Before attempting to purchase, they were interrogated and accused of being in the business without a license, detained in police vehicles, and gun buyer's homes were visited by police, and much more." A gun salesman testified that he was singled out for harassment by two ATF agents. The owner of a gun shop testified that he thought agents questioned female customers too often. He said that times had changed and more women were shopping for guns, adding: "It seems, however, to be the prevailing opinion for law enforcement at the gun show that any woman who brings a male friend for advice or support must be making a straw purchase." A private investigator said the
NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...
contracted her to go to Richmond to investigate dozens of complaints by NRA members of "massive law enforcement presence, residence checks, and minority buyers being followed, pulled over and their legally purchased guns seized." The purchasers were compelled by an ATF letter to appear at ATF offices to explain and justify their purchases. ATF stated this was a pilot program that ATF was planning to apply throughout the country. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ATF agents visited a gun show's customers' homes a week after the show, demanding to see the buyers' guns or sale paperwork and arresting those who could not—or would not—comply. A September 2008 report by the Justice Department's
Office of the Inspector General In the United States, Office of Inspector General (OIG) is a generic term for the oversight division of a federal or state agency aimed at preventing inefficient or unlawful operations within their parent agency. Such offices are attached to ma ...
determined that 76 firearms and 418 laptop computers were lost, stolen, or missing from ATF, after a 59-month audit period between 2002 and 2007. In May 2008, William Newell, Special Agent in charge of the Phoenix ATF Office, said: "When 90 percent-plus of the firearms recovered from these violent drug cartels are from a U.S. source, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to stem the illegal flow of these firearms to these thugs." According to the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General, "ATF told the OIG that the 90-percent figure ... could be misleading because it applied only to the small portion of Mexican crime guns that are traced." Under operations "Fast and Furious," "Too Hot to Handle," and "Wide Receiver," indictments show that the Phoenix ATF Office, over protests from the gun dealers and some ATF agents involved and without notifying Mexican authorities, facilitated the sale of over 2,500 firearms (
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
rifles,
FN 5.7mm FN may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Faking News, Indian news satire website * ''Financial News'', UK financial newspaper and news website * '' Finding Nemo'', a 2003 computer-animated adventure comedy film by Disney and Pixar * '' ...
pistols, and
.50 This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a ...
caliber rifles) to traffickers destined for Mexico. Many of these same guns are being recovered from crime scenes in Arizona and throughout Mexico, which is artificially inflating ATF's eTrace statistics of U.S. origin guns seized in Mexico. One gun is alleged to be the weapon used by a Mexican national to murder Customs and Border Protection Agent Brian Terry on December 14, 2010. ATF and DOJ denied all allegations. After appearing at a Congressional Hearing, three supervisors of Fast and Furious (William G. McMahon, Newell, and David Voth) were reported as being transferred and promoted by ATF. ATF denied the transfers were promotions. In June 2011, Vince Cefalu, an ATF special agent for 24 years who in December 2010 exposed ATF's
Project Gunrunner Project Gunrunner is a project of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico, in an attempt to deprive the Mexican drug cartels of weapons. The primary tactic of Project G ...
scandal, was notified of his termination. Two days before the termination, Rep.
Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served ...
(R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to the ATF warning officials not to retaliate against whistleblowers. Cefalu's dismissal followed allegations that ATF retaliates against whistleblowers. ATF spokesman Drew Wade denied that the bureau is retaliating but declined to comment about Cefalu's case. In 2015, a proposal by the ATF to prohibit sales of certain 5.56 x 45mm ammunition was dropped following a negative response from the public and the legislature. In 2022, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit which found that "thousands of firearms, firearm parts, and ammunition had been stolen from National Firearms and Ammunition Destruction (NFAD) from 2016 to 2019." The NFAD is the branch of the ATF uses to dispose of firearms forfeited to the ATF. The report also stated that the ATF has improved its process to reduce thefts but that it still has not implemented all of the recommendations made by the DOJ.


Director confirmation controversy

In 2006, the National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbied
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
F. James Sensenbrenner to add a provision to the
Patriot Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro ...
reauthorization that requires Senate confirmation of ATF director nominees. (Prior to that, ATF directors were simply appointed by the administration.) After that, the NRA lobbied against and effectively blocked all but one presidential nominee until 2022. In 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Mike Sullivan for the position, a U.S. Attorney from Boston with a good reputation, but Republican Sens.
Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, repres ...
and Michael D. Crapo, both from Idaho, blocked his confirmation after complaints from an Idaho firearms dealer. In 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Andrew L. Traver, head of the ATF's Denver division, to fill the top spot, but the Senate never held his confirmation hearings. The NRA strongly opposed Traver's nomination. Subsequent failed nominations included
Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and th ...
president Chuck Canterbury (nominated by Donald Trump) and former ATF agent
David Chipman David Howland Chipman (born 1966) is an American former ATF agent and gun control advocate who was most recently the nominee to serve as the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Biden administration; however ...
(nominated by Joe Biden). B. Todd Jones was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate as permanent ATF director on July 31, 2013, serving until March 31, 2015. Jones was the only successful Senate-approved appointment until the Senate confirmed
Steve Dettelbach Steven Michael Dettelbach (born November 29, 1965) is an American lawyer and Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from Cleveland, Ohio. He was the United States attorney for the Northern District of Ohio f ...
in July 2022. Dettelbach's confirmation required a procedural maneuver to advance his nomination out of Senate Judiciary committee. It passed the evenly-divided Senate due to two Republicans voting with the Democrats to confirm.


Violent crime

Since 2001, ATF agents have recommended over 10,000 felons every year for federal prosecution for firearms possession through the
Project Safe Neighborhoods Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a national initiative by the United States Department of Justice with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to reduce gun violence in the United States. The project's aim is to ...
framework. In PSN's first year, 2001–2002, over 7,700 of these cases resulted in convictions with an average sentence of over five years per defendant. This number had risen to over 12,000 prosecutions in FY 2007.https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/226686.pdf pages 62–64 The annual FBI
Uniform Crime Report The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and co ...
(UCR) demonstrated that from 2001 to 2010, the reduction of violent crime offenses in United States districts with dedicated Project Safe Neighborhood Agents and United States Attorneys far outperformed the national average. An outgrowth of the Project Safe Neighborhoods framework was the creation of
Violent Crime Impact Teams Violent Crime Impact Teams (VCIT) in the United States work proactively to identify, disrupt, arrest and prosecute the most violent criminals through innovative technology, analytical investigative resources and an integrated federal, state and ...
which worked proactively to identify, disrupt, arrest and
prosecute A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tr ...
the most violent criminals through innovative technology, analytical investigative resources and an integrated
federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
,
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
and local
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. En ...
strategy. Generally, about 90% of the cases referred by ATF for prosecution each year are for firearms, violent crime, and narcotics offenses. Through the first half of 2011, ATF (with fewer than 2,000 active Special Agents) had recommended 5,203 cases for prosecution. This yields an average of 5.0 cases per agent per year. For comparison, the FBI (with slightly more than 13,000 active Special Agents) had recommended 8,819 cases for prosecution, for an average of 1.2 cases per agent per year.


Personnel

ATF, as a bureau, consists of several different groups that each have their own respective role, commanded by a director. Special Agents are empowered to conduct criminal investigations, defend the United States against international and domestic terrorism, and work with state and local police officers to reduce violent crime on a national level. ATF Special Agents may carry firearms, serve warrants and subpoenas issued under the authority of the United States and make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony . Specifically, ATF Special Agents have lead investigative authority on any federal crime committed with a firearm or explosive, as well as investigative authority over regulatory referrals and
cigarette smuggling The illicit cigarette trade is defined as “the production, import, export, purchase, sale, or possession of tobacco goods which fail to comply with legislation” (FATF 2012). Illicit cigarette trade activities fall under 3 categories: # Con ...
. All ATF Special Agents require a Top Secret (TS) security clearance, and in many instances, need a higher level, TS/SCI/SAP (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information/Special Access Programs) clearance. In order to get a security clearance, all potential ATF Special Agents must pass a detailed series of Single Scope Background Investigations (SSBI). ATF Special Agents consistently rank at the top or near the top of all federal agencies in cases referred for prosecution, arrests made, and average time per defendant on an annual basis. Special Agents currently comprise around 2,400 of the Agency's approximately 5,000 personnel. Industry Operations Investigators (IOIs) are the backbone of the ATF regulatory mission. Their work is primarily investigative and routinely involves contact with, and interviews of, individuals from all walks of life and all levels of industry and government. Investigations and inspections pertain to the industries and persons regulated by ATF (e.g., firearms and explosives users, dealers, importers, exporters, manufacturers, wholesalers, etc.); and are under the jurisdiction of the Gun Control Act, National Firearms Act, Arms Export Control Act, Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, and other Federal firearms and explosives laws and regulations. The remainder of the bureau is personnel in various staff and support roles from office administrative assistants to intelligence analysts, forensic scientists, legal counsel, and technical specialists. Additionally, ATF relies heavily on state and local task force officers to supplement the Special Agents and who are not officially part of the ATF roster.


Training

Basic special agent training for new hires consists of a two-part training program. The first part is the Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in
Glynco, Georgia Glynco is an area in Glynn County, Georgia located on the northwestern edge of Brunswick, Georgia. Glynco is a portmanteau of the words "Glynn County". History In 1942 the Naval Air Station Glynco was established on the area now known as Glynco. ...
. The CITP provides fundamental training in the techniques, concepts, and methodologies of conducting criminal investigations. Some of the subjects covered in the training include training in firearms, physical techniques, driving techniques, handcuffing, interviewing, surveillance, crime scene management, photography, basic firearms training, and federal court procedures. The CITP lasts approximately 12 weeks. Each class consists of 48 students, of whom approximately half are ATF trainees. The remaining portion of the CITP class consists of students from other federal agencies. The second part of training is the Special Agent Basic Training (SABT), which is conducted at FLETC. The SABT for special agent trainees is a demanding and intensive training program that covers a wide range of disciplines including firearms and ammunition identification; firearms trafficking; report writing, interviewing techniques; alcohol/tobacco diversion investigations; explosives and fire/arson investigations; firearms and tactical training, close quarter countermeasures; field operations, undercover techniques; and physical conditioning. The SABT consists of approximately 15 weeks of training with a class of 24 student trainees. Industry Operations Investigator Basic Training (IOIBT) is a comprehensive 10-week program designed to train newly hired industry operations investigators (IOI) in the basic knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to effectively conduct inspections of firearms and explosives licensees and permittees, as well as provide assistance to other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. Successful completion of IOIBT is mandatory in order for the newly hired IOI to maintain their employment.


Special Response Teams

ATF’s Special Response Teams (SRTs) are elite tactical groups that rapidly respond to high-risk law enforcement operations and conduct criminal investigations that lead to the arrests of the most violent criminals in the United States. Their work includes search and arrest warrants, high-risk criminal investigations, undercover operations, surveillance operations, and protective service operations. Team members are specially trained ATF special agents who may serve full or part time. They often serve in various roles such as crisis negotiators, team leaders, tactical operators, snipers, operator medics and canine handlers.


Firearms

Members of ATF special agent ranks are issued the
Glock 19 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
M as their primary duty weapon and are trained in the use of, and issued, certain rifles and shotguns. The ATF Special Response Team (SRT) is armed with
Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...
s and other firearms.


Organization

The ATF is organized as follows: * Director ** Chief of Staff ** Chief Counsel * Deputy Director (Chief Operating Officer) ** Office of Field Operations ** Office of Human Resources and Professional Development ** Office of Management ** Office of Enforcement Programs and Services ** Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations ** Office of Public and Governmental Affairs ** Office of Science and Technology ** Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information


Field divisions

The ATF has 26 field offices across the nation in major cities. Those cities are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus (OH), Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Paul, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. Also, there are field offices in different countries such as Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, Iraq, and in the Caribbean.


Regulation of firearms

ATF is responsible for regulating
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 ...
commerce in the United States. The bureau issues
Federal Firearms License A Federal Firearms License (FFL) is a license in the United States that enables an individual or a company to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition, or the interstate and intrastate sale ...
s (FFL) to sellers and conducts firearms licensee inspections. The bureau is also involved in programs aimed at reducing
gun violence in the United States Gun violence in the United States results in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries annually, and was the leading cause of death for children 19 and younger in 2020. In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available as of 2021, th ...
, by targeting and arresting violent offenders who unlawfully possess firearms. ATF was also involved with the
Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative The Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative (YCGII) was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) during the late-1990s. The program aimed to increase firearm tracing of firearms recovered by law enforcement agency, law ...
, which expanded tracing of firearms recovered by law enforcement and the ongoing Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing Initiative. ATF also provides support to state and local investigators through the
National Integrated Ballistic Identification Network The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network or NIBIN is a specialized computer network in the United States. It contains digital images of recovered pieces of ballistic evidence. Running on the Integrated Ballistic Identification Syste ...
(NIBIN) program. In 2006, Congress made the ATF head subject to Senate confirmation; since then, only one nominee has not been blocked from heading the ATF in the Senate.


Firearms tracing

ATF's Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing Initiative is the largest operation of its kind in the world. In FY07, ATF's
National Tracing Center The National Tracing Center (NTC) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the sole firearms tracing facility in the United States. It provides information to provide foreign (international), federal, state and local law ...
processed over 285,000 trace requests on guns for over 6,000 law enforcement agencies in 50 countries. ATF uses a Web-based system, known as
eTrace eTrace is an Internet-based firearm trace request submission system, developed by the United States' federal government, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that provides for the electronic exchange of traced firearm data in a ...
, that provides law enforcement agencies with the capability to securely and electronically send trace requests, receive trace results, and conduct basic trace analysis in real time. Over 2,000 agencies and more than 17,000 individuals currently use eTrace, including over 33 foreign law enforcement agencies. Gun tracing provides information to federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies on the history of a firearm from the manufacturer (or importer), through the distribution chain, to the first retail purchaser. This information is used to link suspects to firearms in criminal investigations, identify potential traffickers, and detect in-state, interstate, and international patterns in the sources and types of crime guns. These results are then used to help the courts prosecute the offenders and attempt to clamp down on firearm crime.


Firearms ballistic tracing

ATF provides investigative support to its partners through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which allows federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to image and compare crime gun evidence. NIBIN currently has 203 sites. In FY07, NIBIN's 174 partner agencies imaged more than 184,000 bullets and casings into the database, resulting in over 5,200 matches that provided investigative leads.


Regulation of explosives

With the passage of the
Organized Crime Control Act The Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 (, October 15, 1970), was an Act of Congress sponsored by Democratic Senator John L. McClellan and signed into law by U.S. President Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April ...
(OCCA) in 1970, ATF took over the regulation of explosives in the United States, as well as prosecution of persons engaged in criminal acts involving explosives. One of the most notable investigations successfully conducted by ATF agents was the tracing of the vehicle used in the
World Trade Center 1993 bombings The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...
, which led to the arrest of persons involved in the conspiracy. ATF also enforces provisions of the Safe Explosives Act, passed after 9/11 to restrict the use/possession of explosives without a federal license to use them. ATF is considered to be the leading federal agency in most bombings that occur within the U.S., with exception to bombings related to international terrorism (investigated by the FBI). ATF currently trains the U.S. military in evidence recovery procedures after a bombing. All ATF Agents are trained in post-blast investigation, however ATF maintains a cadre of approximately 150 highly trained explosive experts known as Certified Explosives Specialists (CES). ATF/CES Agents are trained as experts regarding Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's), as well as commercial explosives. ATF Agents work closely with state and local Bomb Disposal Units (bomb squads) within the United States.


Directors

A list of ATF directors since becoming a Bureau on July 1, 1972: * 1970–1978:
Rex D. Davis Rex Darwin Davis (June 11, 1924 – January 7, 2008) was an American law enforcement official who served as the first director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, which later became known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms an ...
(b. 1924 – d. 2008) (Prior to the establishment of ATF as an independent bureau within the Treasury Department in 1972, from 1970 to 1972, Davis headed its predecessor, the ATF division of the IRS, and oversaw its transition to an independent bureau.) * 1979–1982: G. R. Dickerson * 1982–1993:
Stephen Higgins Stephen E. Higgins (born 1938) was the third Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms from 1983 to 1993, subsequently known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Life and career Higgins joined the IRS ...
(b. 1938) * 1993–1999:
John Magaw John William Magaw (born 1935) is a former administrator for the United States Federal Government. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Otterbein College, in Westerville, Ohio in 1957. He began his career in public service i ...
(b. 1935) * 1999–2004:
Bradley A. Buckles Bradley A. Buckles was sworn in as the fifth Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on December 20, 1999, by Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers. He previously served as deputy director under ATF Director John Magaw ...
(b. 1949) * 2004:
Edgar A. Domenech Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
(1st time—acting) * 2004–2006:
Carl Truscott Carl Joseph Truscott is a security expert and was the sixth Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the United States Department of Justice under George W. Bush, a position he held from 2004 to 2006. Education T ...
(b. 1957) * 2006:
Edgar A. Domenech Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
(2nd time—acting) * 2006–2009: Michael Sullivan (acting) (b. 1954) * 2009: Ronald "Ronnie" A. Carter (acting) * 2009–2011: Kenneth E. Melson (acting) (b. ~ 1948) * 2011–2015: B. Todd Jones (acting 2011–2013; b. 1957) * April 1, 2015 – April 30, 2019: Thomas Brandon (ATF Deputy Director, Acting Director) * May 1, 2019 – June 3, 2021: Regina Lombardo (ATF Deputy Director, Acting Director) * June 4, 2021 – April 25, 2022: Marvin Richardson (ATF Deputy Director, Acting Director) * April 25, 2022 – July 13, 2022: Gary M. Restaino (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona, Acting Director) * July 13, 2022–Present:
Steve Dettelbach Steven Michael Dettelbach (born November 29, 1965) is an American lawyer and Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from Cleveland, Ohio. He was the United States attorney for the Northern District of Ohio f ...
(b. 1965)


Criticism

Some media outlets have criticized the ATF, even going so far as to call for the abolition of the agency. One such criticism leveled by ''
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
'' magazine's J.D. Tuccille stated, "The nicest thing you can say about the ATF is that it's an unserious and unaccountable bureaucracy. Often it's explicitly contemptible, such as during the Fast-and-Furious gun-walking scandal, and its setting up mentally disabled youths to take the fall during gun-and-drug stings. After those abuses of individual rights and public trust, the failings of the National Disposal Branch almost pale by comparison.", with Tuccille further stating in clear terms, "...the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives should be abolished, and its employees sent into the world to seek honest jobs in the private sector, if anybody will have them." Tuccille's primary reason for the complaint related to the mishandling of information and even security of firearms that led to the theft and sale of thousands of confiscated firearms by ATF personnell to private parties. Tuccille argued that if even a fraction of said activity had occurred at a gun store instead, the store would have promptly and swiftly been shut down by the ATF, but that the ATF is not held to the same standards that they hold FFL's, "You have to wonder what the ATF would say about a private facility that was ripped off for years on end by its own staffers and still failed to implement serious security measures after the fact. I expect that the consequences would be a bit more serious than a single arrest and then business as usual despite a tut-tutting reprimand."


See also

*
Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR Title 27 – Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms is one of 50 titles composing the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and contains the principal set of rules and regulations issued by federal agencies regarding alcohol, tobacco p ...
*
ATF gunwalking scandal Gunwalking, or "letting guns walk", was a tactic used by the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office and the Arizona Field Office of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which ran a series of sting operations betw ...
* Center for Intelligence and Security Studies *
Diplomatic Security Service The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS or DS) is a security and law enforcement agency that acts as the operational division of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which is a branch of the United States Department of State. Its primary mission is ...
(DSS) *
Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
(DEA) *
Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration th ...
(ICE) *
List of United States federal law enforcement agencies The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole. While the majority of federal law enforcement employees work for ...
*
Under and Alone ''Under and Alone'' is a book written by undercover ATF agent William Queen and published by Random House in 2005 which chronicles his infiltration of the violent outlaw motorcycle gang, the Mongols. Synopsis William Queen was a nearly 20-year A ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
in the
Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms And Explosives 1972 establishments in the United States Government agencies established in 1972 Organizations based in Washington, D.C.