The
FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System
(NICS) processed the 50 millionth transaction at
11:24 a.m. on September 20, 2004. The transaction
was processed at the FBI NICS Section in Clarksburg,
West Virginia.
This transaction originated from a Federal Firearms
Licensee (FFL) in Texas. The individual had an outstanding
warrant for aggravated assault, which was posted
on the National Crime Information Center System
on September 19, 2004. An FBI NICS employee contacted
the Sheriff's Office who verified the warrant was
active. The individual has been arrested previously
on various charges including aggravated kidnaping
and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The NICS was established as a result of the Brady
Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 and has
been in existence since November 30, 1998. The NICS
is utilized by FFLs to conduct background checks
on potential purchasers or possessors of firearms.
The FFLs contact the NICS Call Center or Point Of
Contact states to initiate a background check. The
purpose of the background check is to search for
the existence of a prohibitor that would disqualify
a potential purchaser or possessor pursuant to Title
18, United States Code, Section 922, (g) or (n)
or state law. There are nine federal prohibitors,
in addition to various state prohibitors, that would
disqualify a potential purchaser or possessor. The
NICS is a name check system only. Descriptive data
provided by a prospective firearms purchaser or
possessor is searched and verified against the records
contained in the National Crime Information Center
(NCIC), the Interstate Identification Index (III),
and the NICS Index.
There have been a total of 378,986 potential purchasers
denied by the FBI NICS Section since November 30,
1998. The majority of the denials (333,982) were
due to the potential purchasers/possessors having
criminal histories such as felony convictions, domestic
violence convictions, and drug abuse. Additional
prohibitive criteria includes but is not limited
to Fugitives from Justice (13,147), Illegal/Unlawful
Aliens (4,429) and Domestic Violence Restraining
Orders (16,867).
The FBI NICS Section continually strives to improve
the immediate response rate to FFLs regarding subject
eligibility. In 2004, the FBI NICS Section maintained
an immediate determination rate of approximately
92 percent. The remaining eight percent requires
further research. Because of this response rate,
an overwhelming majority of firearm background checks
processed by the FBI NICS Section are resolved while
the FFL is still on the telephone.
