[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 4301-4302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-01278]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 14 / Tuesday, January 22, 2013 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 4301]]
Memorandum of January 16, 2013
Tracing of Firearms in Connection With Criminal
Investigations
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
Reducing violent crime, and gun-related crime in
particular, is a top priority of my Administration. A
key component of this effort is ensuring that law
enforcement agencies at all levels--Federal, State, and
local--utilize those tools that have proven most
effective. One such tool is firearms tracing, which
significantly assists law enforcement in reconstructing
the transfer and movement of seized or recovered
firearms. Responsibility for conducting firearms
tracing rests with the Department of Justice's Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Over the years, firearms tracing has significantly
assisted law enforcement in solving violent crimes and
generating thousands of leads that may otherwise not
have been available.
Firearms tracing provides two principal benefits.
First, tracing is an important investigative tool in
individual cases, providing law enforcement agents with
critical information that may lead to the apprehension
of suspects, the recovery of other guns used in the
commission of crimes, and the identification of
potential witnesses, among other things. Second,
analysis of tracing data in the aggregate provides
valuable intelligence about local, regional, and
national patterns relating to the movement and sources
of guns used in the commission of crimes, which is
useful for the effective deployment of law enforcement
resources and development of enforcement strategies.
Firearms tracing is a particularly valuable tool in
detecting and investigating firearms trafficking, and
has been deployed to help combat the pernicious problem
of firearms trafficking across the Southwest border.
The effectiveness of firearms tracing as a law
enforcement intelligence tool depends on the quantity
and quality of information and trace requests submitted
to ATF. In fiscal year 2012, ATF processed
approximately 345,000 crime-gun trace requests for
thousands of domestic and international law enforcement
agencies. The Federal Government can encourage State
and local law enforcement agencies to take advantage of
the benefits of tracing all recovered firearms, but
Federal law enforcement agencies should have an
obligation to do so. If Federal law enforcement
agencies do not conscientiously trace every firearm
taken into custody, they may not only be depriving
themselves of critical information in specific cases,
but may also be depriving all Federal, State, and local
agencies of the value of complete information for
aggregate analyses.
Maximizing the effectiveness of firearms tracing, and
the corresponding impact on combating violent crimes
involving firearms, requires that Federal law
enforcement agencies trace all recovered firearms taken
into Federal custody in a timely and efficient manner.
Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President
by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, I hereby direct the following:
Section 1. Firearms Tracing. (a) Federal law
enforcement agencies shall ensure that all firearms
recovered after the date of this memorandum in the
course of criminal investigations and taken into
Federal custody are traced through ATF at the earliest
time practicable. Federal law enforcement agencies, as
well as other executive departments and agencies, are
encouraged, to the extent practicable, to take steps to
ensure that firearms recovered
[[Page 4302]]
prior to the date of this memorandum in the course of
criminal investigations and taken into Federal custody
are traced through ATF.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this memorandum,
ATF will issue guidance to Federal law enforcement
agencies on submitting firearms trace requests.
(c) Within 60 days of the date of this memorandum,
Federal law enforcement agencies shall ensure that
their operational protocols reflect the requirement to
trace recovered firearms through ATF.
(d) Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum,
each Federal law enforcement agency shall submit a
report to the Attorney General affirming that its
operational protocols reflect the requirements set
forth in this memorandum.
(e) For purposes of this memorandum, ``Federal law
enforcement agencies'' means the Departments of State,
the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior,
Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland
Security, and such other agencies and offices that
regularly recover firearms in the course of their
criminal investigations as the President may designate.
Sec. 2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect the authority granted by law to a department or
agency, or the head thereof.
(b) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
Sec. 3. Publication. The Attorney General is
authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in
the Federal Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, January 16, 2013
[FR Doc. 2013-01278
Filed 1-18-13; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4410-19