NCJ Number
145149
Date Published
1993
Length
120 pages
Annotation
This report provides information on the law enforcement operations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), focusing on the types of cases, allocation of special agents in relation to violent crime, the setting of priorities, and other issues.
Abstract
Information was collected by means of interviews, document reviews, and case files for 50 randomly selected cases for 1991. Results revealed that most ATF law enforcement activities focused on firearms, with less effort on explosives and arson and very little effort on alcohol and tobacco cases. ATF considers a variety of factors in allocating special agents and uses a reasonable process. ATF uses a three-phase process to set enforcement priorities and workload objectives for firearms, explosives, and other field investigations. Most of the criminal cases ATF recommended for prosecution from fiscal year 1988 through 1991 involved potential firearms violations and resulted in convictions. ATF does not systematically evaluate the usefulness of firearms traces, but believes that the continuing large number of requests for traces demonstrates the usefulness of the tracing operations. ATF has several ways of taking property into custody and disposes of property no longer needed as evidence by destroying it, returning it, transferring it to another agency, or selling it. ATF does not summarize property disposal information for management purposes. Appended study results, figures, and tables