View source for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

{{Organization
|OrganizationName=**Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)**
|OrganizationType=Executive Departments
|Mission=The ATF protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. It enforces federal laws and regulations relating to these areas.
|ParentOrganization=United States Department of Justice
|CreationLegislation=Established as a separate agency by the Homeland Security Act of 2002, previously part of the Treasury Department
|Employees=5100
|Budget=$1.464 billion (Fiscal Year 2023)
|OrganizationExecutive=Director
|Services=Firearms regulation; Arson and explosives investigations; Alcohol and tobacco diversion control; Firearms tracing
|Regulations=Gun Control Act of 1968; National Firearms Act; Federal Alcohol Administration Act; Safe Explosives Act
|HeadquartersLocation=38.91729, -76.97794
|HeadquartersAddress=99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226
|Website=https://www.atf.gov
}}
{{Short description|U.S. law enforcement agency}}

{{Infobox law enforcement agency
| agencyname        = Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
| commonname        = Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
| abbreviation      = ATF
| patch             = US-AlcoholTobaccoFirearmsAndExplosives-Seal.svg
| patchcaption      = Seal of the ATF
| logo              = ATF badge.png
| logocaption       = ATF agent badge
| flag              = Flag of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.svg
| flagcaption       = Flag
| mission           = 
| formed            = {{start date and age|1972|7|1}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atf.gov/about/history/|title=History of ATF|access-date=May 2, 2009|year=2009|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives}}</ref>
| preceding1        = IRS Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division
| dissolved         = 
| superseding       = 
| employees         = 5,285 (2021)<ref name="Facts"/>
| budget            = Approx. [[United States dollar|US$]]1.5 billion (2021)<ref name="Facts"/>
| nongovernment     = 
| country           = United States of America
| countryabbr       = United States
| federal           = Yes
| map               = 
| mapcaption        = 
| sizearea          = 
| sizepopulation    = 
| legaljuris        = 
| governingbody     = 
| governingbodyscnd = 
| constitution1     = 
| overviewtype      = 
| overviewbody      = 
| headquarters      = [[Ariel Rios Federal Building]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
| hqlocmap          = 
| hqlocleft         = 
| hqloctop          = 
| hqlocmappoptitle  = 
| sworntype         = 
| sworn             = 
| unsworntype       = 
| unsworn           = 
| electeetype       = 
| chief1name        = [[Steve Dettelbach]]
| chief1position    = Director
| parentagency      = {{Plain list|
* [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] (1972–2003)
* [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] (2003–present)
}}
| website           = {{URL|www.atf.gov|atf.gov}}
| footnotes         = 
| reference         = 
}}
{{USgunlegalbox}}

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 prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of [[firearm]]s and [[explosive]]s; acts of [[arson]] and [[bomb]]ings; and illegal trafficking and [[tax evasion]] of [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and [[tobacco]] products. The ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in [[interstate commerce]]. 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]]. The ATF operates a unique [[ATF Fire Research Laboratory|fire research laboratory]] in [[Beltsville, Maryland]], 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.<ref name="Facts">{{Cite web |title=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) |url=https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1398971/download |publisher=The United States Department of Justice |access-date=September 14, 2022}}</ref> The ATF has received criticism over its handling of the [[Ruby Ridge]] siege,<ref>{{cite news |title=CITING RUBY RIDGE, SPECTER CALLS FOR ABOLITION OF ATF |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/10/24/citing-ruby-ridge-specter-calls-for-abolition-of-atf/7994087a-8cf1-434c-8e3b-73c27005d285/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=October 24, 1995}}</ref> the [[Waco siege]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Says ATF Made Mistakes at Waco, Has Since Reformed |url=https://apnews.com/article/4fc8745f6c835ce802ad68ee054aef0e |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=October 31, 1995}}</ref> and other incidents.

==History==
[[File:US-AlcoholTobaccoAndFirearms-Seal.svg|thumb|left|upright|The seal of the ATF when it was a part of the [[U.S. Department of the Treasury]]]]
The ATF was formerly part of the [[United States Department of the Treasury]], having been formed in 1886 as the "Revenue Laboratory" within the Treasury Department's [[Internal Revenue Service|Bureau of Internal Revenue]]. The history of the ATF can be subsequently traced to the time of the revenuers or "revenoors"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atf.gov/about/history/atf-from-1789-1998.html|title=History of ATF from Oxford University Press, Inc. – 1789–1998 U.S|publisher=Atf.gov|access-date=June 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728164426/http://www.atf.gov/about/history/atf-from-1789-1998.html|archive-date=July 28, 2012}}</ref> and the [[Bureau of Prohibition]], 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 [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] in 1933.

When the [[Volstead Act]], which established [[Prohibition in the United States]], was [[repeal]]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]] and several members of [[The Untouchables (law enforcement)|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),<ref>As early as the year 1918, however, the Bureau of Internal Revenue had begun using the name "Internal Revenue Service" on at least one tax form. See Form 1040, Individual Income Tax Return for year 1918, as republished in historical documents section of Publication 1796 (Rev. Feb. 2007), Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Form 1040s for years 1918, 1919, and 1920 bore the name "Internal Revenue Service". For the tax years 1921 through 1928, the name was dropped, then was re-added for the 1929 tax year.</ref> 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 of 1968|Gun Control Act]], 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, the 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]] 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.<ref name="Holley2008">{{cite news|title=Rex Davis, 83; ATF Ex-Chief, Moonshiners' Foe|first=Joe|last=Holley|author-link=Joe Holley|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011003831.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 11, 2008|page=B07|access-date=May 4, 2009}}</ref> However, taxation and other alcohol issues remained priorities as the 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 [[September 11, 2001 attacks|terrorist attack]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] and [[the Pentagon]] on September 11, 2001, President [[George W. Bush]] signed into law the [[Homeland Security Act of 2002]]. In addition to the creation of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], the law shifted ATF from the Department of the Treasury to the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]].<ref name="Washington Post 2003">{{cite news | title=Move to Justice Dept. Brings ATF New Focus | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2003-01-23 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/01/23/move-to-justice-dept-brings-atf-new-focus/76f43384-a848-4dec-9490-29dd2a2ade6c/ | access-date=2023-03-11 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311155436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/01/23/move-to-justice-dept-brings-atf-new-focus/76f43384-a848-4dec-9490-29dd2a2ade6c/ | archive-date=March 11, 2023}}</ref> 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]] (TTB), which remained within the Treasury Department.<ref name="TTBGov 2015">{{cite web | title=History | website=TTBGov | date=2015-11-18 | url=https://www.ttb.gov/about-ttb/history | access-date=2023-03-11 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311160913/https://www.ttb.gov/about-ttb/history | archive-date=March 11, 2023}}</ref> 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."<ref name="1982 Hearing">{{cite book |date=February 1982|title=The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: Report of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-seventh Congress, Second Session|url=https://constitution.org/1-Activism/mil/rkba82.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=December 13, 2021|via=Constitution Society |location=Washington DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712170826/http://constitution.org/1-Activism/mil/rkba82.pdf|archive-date=July 12, 2020}} Cover and pages 19–23</ref>{{rp|20}} The Subcommittee received evidence that ATF primarily devoted its firearms enforcement efforts to the apprehension, upon technical ''[[malum prohibitum]]'' 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".<ref name='1982 Hearing'/> 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.<ref name='1982 Hearing'/> The [[Firearm Owners Protection Act]] of 1986 addressed some of the abuses noted in the 1982 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee report.

===Ruby Ridge Siege controversy===
{{Main|Ruby Ridge}}
The [[Ruby Ridge|Ruby Ridge Siege]] began in June 1990. [[Randy Weaver]] 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]] and payment of a $200 tax. The ATF brought 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.<ref>''Ruby Ridge: Report of the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information'', 1995. "It was later established that these rumors were unfounded."</ref> 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]] (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]] (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.<ref name="OPRreportBeginning">{{cite web|title=D.O.J. Office of Professional Responsibility Ruby Ridge Task Force Report|url=https://www.justice.gov/opr/readingroom/rubyreportcover_39.pdf|date=June 10, 1994|access-date=April 30, 2009|publisher=[[U.S. Department of Justice]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421072705/http://www.justice.gov/opr/readingroom/rubyreportcover_39.pdf|archive-date=April 21, 2009}}</ref> The Ruby Ridge incident has become a lightning rod for legal activists within the gun rights community.

=== Rodney King riots ===
On May 1, 1992, 50 ATF agents were summoned upon to provide extra support for local police departments in [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] in response to the ongoing [[1992 Los Angeles riots|Rodney King riots]]. The next day, the ATF activated its Special Response Team [[police tactical unit|tactical unit]] to escort firefighters in high-risk areas, pair up with local police in protecting certain establishments, and execute [[search warrant]]s for looted firearms. During the riots, a total of 4,690 firearms were looted and stolen; over the next 10 days, ATF recovered fewer than 200 firearms.<ref>{{cite web|title=Civil Disorder: What Do We Know? How Should We Prepare?|url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/249017.pdf#page=46|page=46|date=April 1993|publisher=[[Police Foundation]]}}</ref>

===Waco Siege controversy===
{{Main|Waco Siege}}
The ATF was involved in the [[Waco Siege]] against the [[Branch Davidian]] religious sect near [[Waco, Texas]], 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 [[Mount Carmel Center|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 [[Ronald Noble|Ron Noble]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=2 Agents Suspended in Waco Raid Are Reinstated|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/25/us/2-agents-suspended-in-waco-raid-are-reinstated.html|access-date=November 5, 2021|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|date=December 25, 1994}}</ref>

===Domestic terrorism towards ATF===
{{Main|Oklahoma City Bombing}}
[[Timothy McVeigh]] cited Ruby Ridge and Waco Siege as his motivation for the [[Oklahoma City Bombing]], which took place on April 19, 1995, exactly two years after the end of the Waco Siege.<ref>See "McVeigh Remorseless About Bombing", newswire release, [[Associated Press]], 2001-03-29, reposted at Cult Education Institute, accessed July 4, 2015.</ref> McVeigh's criterion for attack sites was that the target should house at least two of three [[Federal law enforcement in the United States|federal law enforcement agencies]]: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), and the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA). He regarded the presence of additional law enforcement agencies, such as the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] or the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]], as a bonus.<ref name="AmerTerror167">{{cite book|title=American Terrorist|journal=Scientific American|volume=284|issue=6|author=Michel, Lou|author2=Dan Herbeck|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanterroris00loum/page/167 167]|isbn=978-0-06-039407-3|bibcode=2001SciAm.284f..28D|year=2001|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0601-28|pmid=11396336|url=https://archive.org/details/americanterroris00loum/page/167}}</ref>
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====
[[File:Flag of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (2002).svg|thumb|Initial flag of ATF as part of the U.S. Department of Justice; the Latin scroll was later replaced with one bearing the agency's name.]]
The ATF was criticized for poor planning leading up to [[Stevenson Ranch shootout|a shootout]] at [[Stevenson Ranch, California]], 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.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-19-me-16202-story.html|title=Antonovich Is Critical of ATF Over Shootout|first1=BETH|last1=SHUSTER|first2=NICHOLAS|last2=RICCARDI|date=December 19, 2001|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="syracuse.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/fayetteville_native_jeff_ryan.html|title=Local ATF agent Jeff Ryan was haunted by LA shooting, plagued by PTSD, before taking his life|date=October 14, 2012}}</ref>

Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the ATF expanded regulations covering fuels used in amateur rocketry, including [[ammonium perchlorate composite propellant]] (APCP). Two rocketry clubs, the [[National Association of Rocketry]] (NAR) and the [[Tripoli Rocketry Association]] (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]] (FAA).<ref>{{cite book|title=Make: Rockets: Down-to-Earth Rocket Science|first1=Mike|last1=Westerfield|publisher=Maker Media|date=2014|isbn=978-1-4571-8631-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cadUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT58|page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/14/science/14rocket.html|title=A Cult of Backyard Rocketeers Keeps the Solid Fuel Burning|first1=Patricia Leigh|last1=Brown|date=October 14, 2006|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Hobbyists-Complain-About-New-ATF-Rules-7198287.php|title=Hobbyists Complain About New ATF Rules|first1=Jack|last1=Sullivan|date=March 6, 2003}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Hearings2006Feb">{{cite web|url=http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju26053.000/hju26053_0f.htm|title=Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE): Gun Show Enforcement (Part I and Ii): Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives One Hundred Ninth Congress |date=February 2006|website=House of Representatives |access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref>{{rp|10}} 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."<ref name=Hearings2006Feb/>{{rp|19}} A gun salesman testified that he was singled out for harassment by two ATF agents.<ref name=Hearings2006Feb/>{{rp|28}} 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."<ref name=Hearings2006Feb/>{{rp|38}} A private investigator said the [[National Rifle Association]] (NRA) 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."<ref name=Hearings2006Feb/>{{rp|41}} 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.<ref name=Hearings2006Feb/>

A September 2008 report by the Justice Department's [[Office of the Inspector General]] 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.<ref name="OIG2008">{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/ATF/a0829/final.pdf|title=The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive's Controls Over Its Weapons, Laptop Computers, and Other Sensitive Property|website=U.S. Department of Justice |date=September 2008 |access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref>

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."<ref name="Newell, 2008">{{cite news|first=Brian|last=Ross|author2=RICHARD ESPOSITO|author3=JOSEPH RHEE|title=ATF: Phoenix Gun Dealer Supplied Mexican Drug Cartels|date=May 2008|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4796380&page=1|work=ABC News|access-date=February 14, 2011}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Review">{{cite news|last=U.S. DOJ|title=Review of ATF's Project Gunrunner|date=November 2010|url=https://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/ATF/e1101.pdf|work=U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Evaluation and Inspections Division|access-date=January 29, 2012}}</ref> Under operations [[Operation Fast and Furious|"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]] rifles, [[FN 5.7mm]] pistols, and [[.50]] caliber rifles) to traffickers destined for Mexico.<ref name="Avila Indictment">{{cite news|title=US.v.Avila Indictment|year=2011|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Avila_Indictment.pdf|work=U.S. Department of Justice|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206034243/http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Avila_Indictment.pdf|archive-date=February 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Flores Indictment">{{cite news|title=US_v_Flores_Indictment|year=2011|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Flores_Indictment.pdf|work=U.S. Department of Justice|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220181006/http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Flores_Indictment.pdf|archive-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Broome Indictment">{{cite news|title=US.v.Broome Indictment|year=2011|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Broome_Indictment.pdf|work=U.S. Department of Justice|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220180959/http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Broome_Indictment.pdf|archive-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Aguilar Indictment">{{cite news|title=US.v.Aguilar Indictment|year=2011|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Aguilar_Indictment.pdf|work=U.S. Department of Justice|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220180923/http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Aguilar_Indictment.pdf|archive-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Abarca Indictment">{{cite news|title=US.v.Abarca Indictment|year=2011|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Abarca_Indictment.pdf|work=U.S. Department of Justice|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220180523/http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/US_v_Abarca_Indictment.pdf|archive-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref> Many of these same guns are being recovered from crime scenes in Arizona<ref name="ATF Weapons">{{cite news|first=Lori|last=Gliha|title=Weapons linked to controversial ATF strategy found in Valley crimes|date=July 1, 2011|url=http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/weapons-linked-to-controversial-atf-strategy-found-in-valley-crimes|work=KNXV-TV, ABC15.com|access-date=July 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703035905/http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/weapons-linked-to-controversial-atf-strategy-found-in-valley-crimes|archive-date=July 3, 2011}}</ref> and throughout Mexico,<ref name="Fast and Furious Map">{{cite news|title=Fast and Furious Investigation|year=2011|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/Fast_Furious_Map_ATF.pdf|work=BATFE|access-date=February 14, 2011|archive-date=February 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220180218/http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2011/Fast_Furious_Map_ATF.pdf}}</ref> 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 [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection|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.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Serrano|title=ATF promotes supervisors in controversial gun operation|date=August 16, 2011|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2011-aug-16-la-na-atf-guns-20110816-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 21, 2011}}</ref> ATF denied the transfers were promotions.<ref name="Los Angeles Times 2">{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Serrano|title=ATF denies it promoted Fast and Furious supervisors|date=August 17, 2011|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-aug-17-la-na-atf-guns-20110818-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 21, 2011}}</ref>

In June 2011, Vince Cefalu, an ATF special agent for 24 years who in December 2010 exposed ATF's [[Project Gunrunner]] scandal, was notified of his termination. Two days before the termination, Rep. [[Darrell Issa]] (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.<ref name="Whistleblower">{{cite news|first=Bill|last=O'Reilly|title=ATF Whistleblower Speaks Out About Botched Gun Operation|date=June 30, 2011|url=http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/2011/07/01/atf-whistleblower-speaks-out-about-botched-gun-operation|work=Fox News|access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Cefalu">{{cite news|first=Maxim|last=Lott|title='Project Gunrunner' Whistleblower Says ATF Sent Him Termination Notice|date=June 27, 2011|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/project-gunrunner-whistleblower-says-atf-sent-him-termination-notice/|work=Fox News|access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref>

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.<ref name="ABC News">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/atf-director-todd-jones-stepping-years-job/story?id=29779602|title=ATF Director B. Todd Jones Stepping Down After Nearly 4 Years on Job|website=ABC News|last1=Date|first1=Jack|last2=Levine|first2=Mike|date=March 20, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=November 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320233244/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/atf-director-todd-jones-stepping-years-job/story?id=29779602|archive-date=March 20, 2015}}</ref>

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."<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Audit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' Firearm Disposal Practices|url=https://oig.justice.gov/reports/audit-bureau-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives-firearm-disposal-practices}}</ref> 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.<ref name="auto"/>

In 2023, federal Judge Reed O'Connor of the Northern District of Texas vacated the Bureau's attempt to expand the definition of a firearm frame or receiver. Judge O'Connor ruled ATF exceeded its statutory authority in attempting to redefine these terms and implement regulations of so-called "readily convertible" or "80% receiver" kits.<ref name="TTAG_1">{{cite web | agency= TTAG | title=Federal Judge Throws Out ATF's Frame or Receiver Rule That Redefined What Constitutes a Firearm | website=TTAG.com | author=Dan Zimmerman | date=July 1, 2023 | url=https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/federal-judge-throws-out-atfs-frame-or-receiver-rule-that-redefined-what-constitutes-a-firearm/ | access-date=July 2, 2023 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=October 2024}}

===Director confirmation controversy===
In 2006, the [[National Rifle Association]] (NRA) lobbied [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] [[Jim Sensenbrenner|F. James Sensenbrenner]] to add a provision to the [[Patriot Act]] reauthorization that requires [[United States Senate|Senate]] confirmation of ATF director nominees. (Prior to that, ATF directors were simply appointed by the administration.<ref name="Horwitz130731">{{cite news|last=Horwitz|first=Sari|date=July 31, 2013|title=Senate confirms ATF director|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/senate-confirms-atf-director/2013/07/31/dc9b0644-fa09-11e2-8752-b41d7ed1f685_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 25, 2014}}</ref>) After that, the NRA lobbied against and effectively blocked all but one presidential nominee<ref name=Horwitz130731/><ref>{{cite news|last=Yager|first=Jordy|date=June 18, 2013|title=Sen. Durbin pressures gun lobby with threat to move ATF authority to FBI|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/153722-sen-durbin-pressures-gun-lobby-with-threat-to-move-atf-authority-to-fbi/|newspaper=The Hill|publisher=Capitol Hill Publishing|access-date=June 25, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Serrano130711">{{cite news|last=Serrano|first=Richard A.|date=July 11, 2013|title=ATF nominee faces obstacles to confirmation|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2013-jul-11-la-na-atf-confirmation-20130712-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 25, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gangitano|first=Alex|date=April 11, 2022|title=Biden nominates Steve Dettelbach for top guns post|url=https://thehill.com/news/administration/3263709-biden-nominates-steve-dettelbach-for-top-guns-post/|access-date=April 18, 2022|work=The Hill|language=en-US|quote=The Senate has confirmed only one ATF nominee, in 2013, since the position required confirmation from the chamber.}}</ref> until 2022.<ref name="NYT2022-07-12">{{Cite news|last=Thrush|first=Glenn|date=July 12, 2022|title=Senate Confirms Biden's Pick to Direct A.T.F.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/us/politics/steven-dettelbach-atf-guns.html|access-date=July 13, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 2007, President George W. Bush nominated [[Michael Sullivan (U.S. Attorney)|Mike Sullivan]] for the position, a U.S. Attorney from Boston with a good reputation, but Republican Sens. [[Larry Craig]] and [[Mike Crapo|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.<ref name="Puschak121226">{{cite news|first=Evan|last=Puschak|date=December 26, 2012|title=ATF Handicapped by Laws and a Lack of Leader|url=http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/12/26/atf-handicapped-by-laws-and-a-lack-of-leader/|publisher=NBC Universal|access-date=January 7, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Lavoie081013">{{cite news|last=Lavoie|first=Denise|date=October 13, 2008|title=ATF Director's Confirmation Blocked by GOP|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-13-3890655654_x.htm|newspaper=USA Today|agency=Associated Press|access-date=January 7, 2013}}</ref> The NRA strongly opposed Traver's nomination.<ref name="Skiba110216">{{cite news|first=Katherine|last=Skiba|date=February 16, 2011|title=Gun Lobby Stands Firm in Opposing Obama's ATF Nominee: Chicago Gang Fighter Called Wrong Choice To Head Agency|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/02/16/gun-lobby-stands-firm-in-opposing-obamas-atf-nominee/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=January 7, 2012}}</ref>

Subsequent failed nominations included [[Fraternal Order of Police]] president [[Kenneth Charles Canterbury Jr.|Chuck Canterbury]] (nominated by Donald Trump) and former ATF agent [[David Chipman]] (nominated by Joe Biden).<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|last2=Benner|first2=Katie|date=April 11, 2022|title=Biden Names Former Federal Prosecutor to Lead A.T.F.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/us/politics/biden-atf-steven-dettelbach.html|access-date=April 18, 2022|issn=0362-4331|quote=If confirmed, Mr. Dettelbach would become only the second permanent director in the past 15 years of the A.T.F.}}</ref>

[[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.<ref name="Horwitz130731" /><ref>{{Cite press release|date=March 20, 2015|title=ATF Announces B. Todd Jones to Depart|url=https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/atf-announces-b-todd-jones-depart|url-status=live|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910143735/https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/atf-announces-b-todd-jones-depart|archive-date=September 10, 2015}}</ref> Jones was the only successful Senate-approved appointment until the Senate confirmed [[Steve Dettelbach]] 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.<ref name="NYT2022-07-12"/>

===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]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/html/PSNFactS.pdf|title=Bureau of Justice Assistance – Re-Direct|publisher=Ojp.usdoj.gov|access-date=June 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304014743/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/html/PSNFactS.pdf|archive-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref> This number had risen to over 12,000 prosecutions in FY 2007.<ref name="ncjrs">https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/226686.pdf pages 62–64</ref> The annual FBI [[Uniform Crime Report]] (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.<ref name=ncjrs/> An outgrowth of the Project Safe Neighborhoods framework was the creation of [[Violent Crime Impact Teams]] which worked proactively to identify, disrupt, [[arrest]] and [[prosecute]] the most violent criminals through innovative technology, [[Analytical skills|analytical]] investigative resources and an integrated [[Federal government of the United States|federal]], [[U.S. state|state]] and local [[law]] [[enforcement]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trac.syr.edu/cgi-secure/product/login.pl?p_month=apr&p_year=11&p_series=annual&p_stat=fil&p_agenrevgrp=JATF&_SERVICE=express9&_PROGRAM=interp.annualreport.sas&_DEBUG=0|title=TRAC Detail Reports|work=[[Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse]]|publisher=[[Syracuse University]]|access-date=June 17, 2012}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://trac.syr.edu/cgi-secure/product/login.pl?p_month=apr&p_year=11&p_series=annual&p_stat=fil&p_agenrevgrp=JFBI&_SERVICE=express9&_PROGRAM=interp.annualreport.sas&_DEBUG=0|title=TRAC Detail Reports|work=Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse|access-date=June 17, 2012}}</ref> 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 Agent]]s 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 {{UnitedStatesCode|18|3051}}. Specifically, ATF Special Agents have <!--to avoid false positives on search for 'have led/lead' typo-->lead investigative authority on any [[federal crime]] committed with a firearm or explosive, as well as investigative authority over regulatory referrals and [[cigarette smuggling]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trac.syr.edu/tracatf/trends/v04/agenmedtimeG.html|title=Prison sentences which initially rose have now fallen|access-date=May 18, 2009|work=[[Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse]]|publisher=[[Syracuse University]]}}</ref> Special Agents currently comprise around 2,400 of the Agency's approximately 5,000 personnel.

Industry Operations Investigators (IOIs)<ref name="atf.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/careers/becoming-industry-operations-investigator|title=Becoming an Industry Operations Investigator &#124; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|website=www.atf.gov|access-date=December 18, 2022}}</ref> 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.<ref name="atf.gov"/>

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]]. 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.<ref name="Bureau">{{cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/careers/special-agent-training|title=Special Agent Training|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|access-date=May 17, 2017}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

The second part of training is the Special Agent Basic Training (SABT), which is conducted at FLETC and 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.<ref name="Bureau"/>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/careers/industry-operations-investigator-training|title=Industry Operations Investigator Training {{!}} Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|website=www.atf.gov|language=en|access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref>

==Special Response Teams==
ATF's Special Response Teams (SRTs) are [[SWAT|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/about-atf/special-response-teams|title=Special Response Teams &#124; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|website=www.atf.gov}}</ref>

==Firearms==
Members of ATF special agent ranks are issued the [[Glock#Glock 19M|Glock 19M]] 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's Manufacturing Company|Colt]] [[M4 carbine]]s and other firearms.<ref>{{cite web|title=ATF Special Response Teams FACT SHEET|url=https://www.atf.gov/file/11051/download|publisher=ATF.gov|access-date=June 25, 2021}}</ref>

==Organization==
The ATF is organized as follows:<ref>{{cite web|title=Organization Structure {{!}} Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|url=https://www.atf.gov/about/organization-structure|website=ATF|access-date=October 8, 2016}}</ref>
* 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 divisions 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, 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, Lithuania, and in the Caribbean.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atf.gov/contact/atf-field-divisions|title=ATF Field Divisions|work=ATF|access-date=December 26, 2018}}</ref>

==Regulation of firearms==
ATF is responsible for regulating [[firearm]] commerce in the United States. The bureau issues [[Federal Firearms License]]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]], by targeting and arresting violent offenders who unlawfully possess firearms. ATF was also involved with the [[Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative]], which expanded tracing of firearms recovered by law enforcement and the ongoing Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing Initiative.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atf.gov/publications/general/snapshots/atf-snapshot-2006.html|title=ATF Snapshot (2006)|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203000711/http://www.atf.gov/publications/general/snapshots/atf-snapshot-2006.html|archive-date=December 3, 2009}}</ref> ATF also provides support to state and local investigators through the [[National Integrated Ballistic Information Network]] (NIBIN) program.

In 2006, Congress made the ATF head subject to Senate confirmation and, until recently, only one nominee had not been blocked from heading the ATF in the Senate.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|last2=Hakim|first2=Danny|last3=McIntire|first3=Mike|date=May 2, 2021|title=How the A.T.F., Key to Biden's Gun Plan, Became an N.R.A. 'Whipping Boy'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/02/us/politics/atf-nra-guns.html|access-date=May 3, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Steven Dettelbach became the second in July 2022 after being nominated by President Joe Biden.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.atf.gov/about-atf/executive-staff/director | title=Director &#124; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives }}</ref>

===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]] 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]], 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.<ref name="ATF Online">{{cite web|url=http://www.atf.gov/publications/general/snapshots/atf-snapshot-2008.html|title=ATF Snapshot (2008)|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110191553/http://www.atf.gov/publications/general/snapshots/atf-snapshot-2008.html|archive-date=November 10, 2010}}</ref>

===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 183,000 bullets and casings into the database, resulting in over 5,200 matches that provided investigative leads.<ref name="ATF Online"/>

==Regulation of explosives==
With the passage of the [[Organized Crime Control Act]] (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]], 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.

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Politics}}
* [[Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
* [[ATF gunwalking scandal]]
* [[Center for Intelligence and Security Studies]]
* [[Diplomatic Security Service]] (DSS)
* [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA)
* [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE)
* [[List of United States federal law enforcement agencies]]
* [[Under and Alone]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Moore|first=Jim|year=2001|orig-date=1997|title=Very Special Agents: The Inside Story of America's Most Controversial Law Enforcement Agency—the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|page=384|isbn=978-0-252-07025-9|oclc=123148330|edition=reprint, illustrated}}

==External links==
* {{official website|http://www.atf.gov}}
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/alcohol-tobacco-firearms-and-explosives-bureau Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] in the ''[[Federal Register]]''
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980117101637/http://www.atf.treas.gov/ |date=January 17, 1998 |title=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives }}

{{US Alcohol}}
{{DOJ agencies}}
{{Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States}}
{{Prohibition}}
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