13% budget increase for ATF

[biku324]

So; for all the folks out there without significant police experience, know that practices of BATFE agents (law enforcement or 1800 series, not regulatory personnel) has changed dramatically over the past 20-25 years. What used to be an occasional referral to them for someone caught with a full-auto or illegally modified firearm has given way to agents being valued members of anti-gang, counterdrug, and counter-terrorism task forces involving municipal, county, and state law enforcement. Routinely, BATFE can get Federal time for illegally armed gangsters, traffickers, or foriegn/domestic terror defendants. They also provide a direct point of contact for firearms tracing and NIBIN access. They do a good deal of training and mentoring of law enforcement officers dealing with explosives, and do some complex investigations training on explosives for domestic and limited international law enforcement agencies. That's aside from investigations they initiate.

You are safer today because BATFE decided to find ways to be an effective partner to LE.

 

[Rodan]

Is that from an ATF recruiting brochure?

Over 27 years in LE, my experiences working with the ATF haven't been anywhere near that positive. Pretty sure we're not going to find ourselves in agreement on anything where the ATF is concerned.

And I'm honestly amazed that anyone who values the 2nd Amendment would be championing the ATF at this point.

 

[biku324]

Well, so be it.

I treasure the assistance BATFE gave us in Ochoa and Aguirre drug cartel investigations (for just two) as well in getting street gang and prison gang members into the Fed joint with more time for firearms possession crimes than they would have gotten in the state system for worse crimes. I also appreciate their assistance with counter-suicide bombing training assistance in Iraq and Pakistan.

 

[drumminor2nd]

We can find individual stories of criminal behavior anywhere/anywhen we want. Criminals will be criminals.

My issue isn't about him later shooting up a church. My issue is the feds' enforcement action against someone who let 11 guns walk out of his shop was just a polite but vaguely-stern letter telling him how they "weren't mad, just disappointed."

The ATF isn't the UN, for crying out loud…

When the NRA, NSSF, GOA and the rest of us say "don't pass new laws, enforce the ones we already have," THIS is what we're talking about.

One last point: the data being used as a baseline is from 2020 — when the majority of gun shops were closed for months. I'm skeptical of anyone using any data from 2020 as a baseline for literally anything.

 

[ladder13]

13%. An interesting number...

Need to keep up with inflation.

 

[teletech]

I'd personally *love* to see every person who failed their background check to purchase get an interview. From the FFLs I've spoken to that seems like it would be a very good use of agents' time.
The ATF encounters I've had have been polite and professional, I did a couple imports and then bought a thing that was sold as not a firearm but later determined to be just a bit over the line (surrender it, register it, or destroy it). It wasn't great getting that phone call, but the agent was fine.
I'm not saying there aren't other possible outcomes.
I think the issues people have are more the laws they are called upon to enforce and so the ire should really often be directed elsewhere.
still 13%... that will about cover the cost of living adjustments for the agents they already have plus the increase in ammo costs over the last year.

 

[pharmer]

Let's see how they run with a .gov attorney at the wheel. Joe

 

[ggibson511960]

A Low Bar

Let's see how they run with a .gov attorney at the wheel. Joe

With all due apologies to diligent Civil Service employees, the standard of performance in the federal bureaucracy is quite low. Administrative personnel privilege and privacy will never disclose the data, but I would hazard a guess that the number of demotions, dismissals, re-training and other actions of true accountability meted out to BATFE employees is vanishingly small. To cherry pick public anecdotes, consider the Department of Agriculture and FDA's performance while responsible for keeping WIC recipients supplied with baby formula. My father worked in a Civil Service job for decades and loathed the bureaucracy, so my opinion is biased, but continually reinforced.

 

[biku324]

I just left Federal service a year and a half ago and had the daily privilege of working with dedicated professionals that spent most waking moments trying to further separate and distinct missions. These folks were colleagues in DOJ, the State Department, DoD, and Treasury.

There are slugs in many (most?) organizations. There certainly were in the county agency, municipal agency, state agency, and two major corporations in which I've worked; the Fed agency I worked in had some, but as with other organizations, they were a minor irritant unrepresentative of the organizations just as fleas don't accurately represent the dog.

My dad worked for BOP for 8 or 9 years in the 1960s and shared some pretty negative opinions of his peers, who were GS 3 to GS 7 (lower level) employees. He quit to run a small business, and at age 90 often regrets having left a career for a job.

 

[WR Moore]

Every organization on the face of the earth has it's fair share of drones/slugs. I don't think there's any way to get an honest appraisal of which type of organization gets more than their fair share. Casual observation suggests government might, along with those who are on self appointed "missions".

One issue is when there's an expansion of any particular segment of any entity, there's a call for volunteers to transfer. Some of the folks I noted will jump at the opportunity seeking greener pastures. Others will be "encouraged" by supervisors who want them gone to make the move. Likewise, some regional offices are, well, different. I will note that my few interactions with BATFE in the last 30 or so years were quite different-in a very good way-from interactions shortly after passage of the 1968 Gun Control Act.

 

[StakeOut]

I think the high volume non FFL sellers on Gun Broker will be a target.