atf gis prototype presentation
TRANSCRIPT
U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
National Tracing Center
Overview ofFirearms Tracing& eTrace
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a unique Federal law enforcement agency in the US Department of Justice that protects against illegal use and trafficking of firearms, among other areas of emphasis.
Mission of ATF & the NTC
The mission of the ATF National Tracing Center (NTC), mandated by U.S. Congress, is to trace the origin of US-sourced firearms recovered by law enforcement and to provide detailed trace results information and potential investigative leads to the law enforcement community.
Firearm tracing is the systematic process of tracking a recovered crime gun’s chain of custody from it’s source through the chain of distribution, to the individual who was the first retail purchaserof the firearm.
What is Firearms Tracing?
Why is Tracing Necessary?• To link a suspect to a firearm in a criminal
investigation;
• To identify potential traffickers, whetherlicensed or unlicensed sellers; and,
• When comprehensive tracing isundertaken by a community,to detect in-state, interstate,and international patterns inthe source and kinds of crimeguns.
There is NO NATIONALFIREARMS REGISTRY
Comprehensive firearms tracing is the routine tracing of EVERY crime gun recovered within a geographic area or specific law enforcement jurisdiction.
What is Comprehensive Firearms Tracing?
A firearm is any weapon which will,or is designed to, or may readily beconverted to expel a projectile bythe action of an explosive.More specifically, the frame (as generally referred to on handguns) or receiver (on long guns) of any such weapon constitutes the firearm. The frame or receiver is also where most identifying marks, such as the serial number, will appear.
What Can Be Traced?
FRAME
RECEIVER
• Any firearm manufactured in or before 1898• Any muzzle loading firearm, which is designed to use
black powder, or black powder substitute, and which cannot use fixed ammunition
• BB/pellet guns, paintball guns, flare guns, or conversions thereof.
What Cannot Be Traced?
PAINTBALL GUN CONVERTED FLARE GUN
Markings Needed to TraceSerial Number• Must appear on frame or receiver
Importer Name, City,and State(if manufactured abroad andimported into USA)
City and State of Mfr(if manufactured in USA)
Name of ManufacturerModel (if assigned)
Caliber or Gauge
• Serial number must appear on theframe or receiver, which by legaldefinition, is the actual firearm.
• All other required markings mustappear conspicuously on the frame,receiver, barrel, or slide.
• Firearm TYPE (pistol, revolver, shotgun,etc.) is also needed to trace the firearm.
Firearms Tracing Process
Firearms tracing relies on the record keeping of Federally licensed dealers.
Firearm checked against various crime gun databases,
such as stolen firearms
Firearms Tracing Process
Trace results sent to requestor
FFL indentifies first purchaser
Manufacturer/ US Importer
Distributor/Wholesaler
RetailFFL(s)
Crime Gun Recovered by Police Officer/Special Agent
Recovering Agency Submits Trace Request (Including Firearm Information)
NTC Initiates Trace Process
Out-of-Business Records Center (NTC)(If MFR, IMPRTR, DIST/WHLSLR, or RETAIL FFL has gone out of business)
• The NTC is the central repository for hundreds of millions of records from over 700,000 out of business FFLs.
• These out-of business records exist nowhere else and are regularly utilized to facilitate the firearms tracing process.
Out-of-Business Records
• Insufficient information
• Deteriorated condition of FFL records
• Missing records, unavailable
• Incomplete records
• Uncooperative dealers
• Transient dealers
• 20 year record retention
Possible Tracing Delays
• Stolen Firearms • Straw Purchasing• Obliterated Serial Numbers• Short Time-to-Crime • Source Areas • Multiple Sales• Multiple Recoveries
associated with thesame individuals
Potential Indicators
Of Firearms Trafficking
Firearms Tracing
• Secure web based application used to electronically exchange firearm trace related information with ATF National Tracing Center.
• Available at no cost to any LE Agency regardless of location, size or available resources.o Offers limitless availability with no incurred costs or
software requirements.o Requires only a connection to the Internet and entry into
a standard Memorandum of Understanding with ATF.o As many or as few individual users as desired.
What is ?
• Provide valuable investigative leads in a timely manor.
• Provide the law enforcement community with a user-friendly interface to submit, manage and retrieve firearm trace related data.
• Increase the percentage of recovered crime guns traced.
• Increase the quality of the incoming trace data.
• Decrease the turn-around time for processing traces.
Objectives
Individual user
Agency wide
• Once the trace has beencompleted, eTrace userscan view their traceresults electronically andprint a detailed summary.
• A completed trace followsthe firearm to the firstretail sale. The sale dateis used to determine the“Time to Crime” (e.g. theperiod in days betweenthe retail sale and thedate the firearm wasrecovered by lawenforcement.
Trace Results
Each statistical report will display a summary graph as well as a breakdown of the data in a results grid, which allows users to drill-down to view the individual trace results.
There are seven statistical reports:• Number of Traces by Year• Number of Traces by Status• Top Firearms Traced• Top Crimes Reported with Traced Firearms• Top Source Dealers of Firearms Traced• Time-to-Crime Rates for Firearms Traced• Age of Possessors of Firearms Traced
Features: AvailableStatistical Reports
The eTrace application provides users with the ability to generate statistical reports for a given time-frame. These reports allow users to easily identify data trends through the display of a graph.
Features: Generate Statistical Reports
Reports: Number ofTraces by Calendar Year
• Significant reduction in the turnaround time required toprocess a trace request.
• Ability to perform on-line analytical research relative toyour jurisdiction.
• Ability to submit traces and retrieve trace results 24/7, 365days a year from anywhere with internet access.
• Ability to monitor the status of traces.
• Automatic notification of completion of trace requests.
• Lead generation and the ability to analyze trace data throughthe referral list, seven statistical reports, and the searchinterface.
Benefits of
• Trace all recovered firearms, even if they may not be ofUS origin (manufactured or imported).
• You are building your own, local crime gun database foryour jurisdiction.
• Work with ATF in opening international firearms traffickinginvestigations for US-source firearms.
Best Practices for
Countries UsingAlbaniaAnguillaAntigua andBarbudaArubaAustraliaBahamasBarbadosBelgiumBelizeBermudaBritish VirginIslandsCanadaCayman Islands
Costa RicaColombiaCuracaoCzech RepublicDominicaDominicanRepublicEl SalvadorFinlandGermanyGrenadaGuatemalaGuyanaHondurasJamaica
JapanKosovoMexicoMontserratNicaraguaPanamaPhilippinesSt. Kittsand Nevis
St. LuciaSt. Vincent &The GrenadinesSlovakiaSpainSurinameTrinidad and TobagoUnited Kingdom
Current as of May 2015
Currently utilized by nearly 40,000 individuals representing almost 5,800 law enforcement agencies throughout the US and 42 other countries.
