JUSTICE DEPARTMENT RELEASES 2001-2002 OPERATIONS REPORT FOR THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today released the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2001/2002 Operational Report for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The NICS background check system was established in November 1998 to ensure that those seeking to buy guns from gun dealers are not criminals or other persons prohibited by law from possessing firearms.

Attorney General John Ashcroft directed the FBI in 2001 and 2002 to take steps to ensure that NICS background checks are able to determine more thoroughly and efficiently whether a prospective gun buyer is entitled to obtain firearms. Today’s report recognizes several major accomplishments of the FBI in improving NICS.

“The improvements in the NICS system are helping make our country safer by barring access to firearms by felons, illegal aliens, and others who cannot legally own guns,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “This Department of Justice is dedicated to reducing criminals’ access to guns, aggressively prosecuting those who violate our nation's gun laws, and ensuring safe neighborhoods across America.”

The report includes improvements in several areas, including the following:

Responding to June 2001 and February 2002 directives of Attorney General John Ashcroft, the FBI increased the percentage of NICS checks resulting in a response of “proceed” or “denied” while the dealer is still on the telephone. The FBI made responsive system changes that increased the NICS immediate determination rate to 91 percent, a 20-percentage point increase from the 71 percent average that the NICS experienced at the beginning of 2001.

Responding to a February 2002 directive of Attorney General John Ashcroft, the FBI implemented both temporary and permanent NICS procedures to include a check of records on the immigration status of non-immigrant aliens seeking to buy guns.

NICS improved its service to gun dealers by making the NICS system available for service nearly 100 percent of its operating hours. System availability increased from 97 percent in 2000 to 99 percent in both 2001 and 2002.

NICS E-Check was launched in August 2002, giving gun dealers the option of accessing the NICS electronically through an internet connection, as opposed to just by telephone.

In addition to the progress made in providing dealers with accurate and efficient service, the NICS significantly reduced the number of retrievals required if a dealer has provided a firearm to a prohibited person. Under the law, if a dealer has not been notified by NICS within three business days that an applicant is ineligible to obtain a firearm, the dealer can legally transfer the firearm to that individual. However, should NICS later obtain information demonstrating that an individual is prohibited from owning the firearm, then a retrieval request is forwarded to the ATF. Less than 1/10 of one percent of NICS proceeded transactions were forwarded to ATF in 2001 and 2002 -- marking a decrease of nearly 800 retrievals in 2001 as compared to 2000, and a further decrease of 736 retrievals in 2002 as compared to 2001.

The Department of Justice continues its efforts to reduce the remaining 9 percent of NICS transactions that are delayed by seeking to improve the completeness of records of criminal history dispositions at both the state and national level. Incomplete records of dispositions of arrests for disqualifying charges is the primary reason for delayed NICS checks, since the system must manually search for the missing disposition before providing a final response to a dealer on whether the person is prohibited. Since 1995, the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) has provided nearly $400 million to the states to improve their record systems in many different ways. The Department of Justice will distribute another $48 million in NCHIP funds to the states in fiscal year 2003. These efforts will continue to improve the effectiveness of the NICS system, and continue to decrease the retrieval rate.

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