eTrace is an Internet-based firearm trace request submission system, developed by the United States' federal government, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that provides for the electronic exchange of traced firearm data in a secure internet-based environment. Participating law enforcement agencies (domestic and foreign) with access to the internet can acquire 24/7 real-time capabilities to electronically submit firearm trace requests, monitor the progress of traces, retrieve completed trace results, and to query firearm trace related data in Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) firearms registration database at the National Tracing Center. Firearms tracing is the systematic tracking of the movement of a firearm from its creation by the manufacturer or its introduction into U.S. commerce by the importer, through the distribution chain to the first retail purchase. Release 4.0, a bilingual version (English and Spanish) of eTrace was deployed in December, 2009 for the benefit of Spanish-speaking countries.
Features Through eTrace, registered users have the capability to initiate a search for traces in various ways. For example, users can search by a firearm's serial number, individual name, type of crime, date of recovery, and numerous other identifiers. Registered users can also generate various statistical reports regarding the number of traces submitted over time, the top firearms traced, the average time-to-crime rates, and more. This will allow any law enforcement agency to develop investigative strategies to reduce firearms-related crime and violence.
The ATF's National Tracing Center assists Federal, State, local and foreign law enforcement agencies by tracing the origin of U.S. source firearms (only to the first retail purchaser) that have been recovered in police activities. Law enforcement can trace a firearm to develop investigative leads that may link a suspect to a firearm in a criminal investigation; identify potential traffickers; and detect in-state, interstate and international patterns in the sources and kinds of crime guns.
eTrace includes the ability to interactively develop investigative leads relative to trace requests; a significant decrease in the turnaround time required to process a trace request; improved data quality of trace related information by providing real time data validation; the ability to monitor the status of traces in a real-time environment; the ability to view/print/download completed trace results; and the ability to generate various statistical reports and perform on-line analytical research relative to a jurisdiction. There are over 35 foreign countries now participating in the eTrace program as well as thousands of police agencies throughout the United States. Each participating law enforcement agency must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ATF and designate each authorized user by name.
Basics of ATF tracing ATF's tracing system can only trace guns made in the United States or legitimately imported into the United States by a licensed importer in recent years. Guns imported prior to 1968 are extremely difficult or impossible to trace. All war trophy firearms brought back by returning veterans are impossible to trace. However, if such a gun was sold in recent years through a dealer who went out of business, it might be traced.
The basis for ATF to trace a firearm is Make, Model and Serial Number. Serial Numbers: Serial numbers on guns are not sacrosanct. Recording of serial numbers by ATF, police or dealers is subject to human error, as it is easy to misread a serial (for example: confusing the number 0 with the letter O, 2 with Z, or 5 with S), omit a digit or two, or transpose a couple of numbers. These and similar errors when entering a serial into the tracing system result in false traces. Certain categories of firearms will provide false results because of multiple duplicate serial numbers (German Luger pistols, P.38 pistols, K.98 rifles, for example). To further complicate the issue, it is relatively simple to add letters or numbers to a firearm serial (an illegal act) which will cause the trace to fail or produce a false trace. It is also simple to exchange parts on multiple guns such that (on certain pistols) the frame has one serial, the slide has another number and the barrel yet another number. According to the ATF National Tracing Center data, an invalid serial number was the most common reason for unsuccessful traces from Mexico, but the report doesn't clarify how a serial number can be "invalid". Make: In a recent report, ATF has acknowledged that counterfeit firearms play an increasingly important role in the Mexican Cartels. Such counterfeit firearms could be completely unmarked or fraudulently marked with a manufacturer's name. Model: Many firearms are not marked with a model designation, and many models look identical. The configuration of a firearm can sometimes be easily changed by exchanging parts to conform to a completely different model, or a completely different manufacturer.
In 1998/1999, ATF repeatedly published the following disclaimer, "ATF emphasizes that the appearance of a Federal firearms licensee (FFL) or a first unlicensed purchaser of record in association with a crime gun [i.e. traced gun] or in association with multiple crime guns [i.e. traced guns] in no way suggests that either the FFL or the first purchaser has committed criminal acts." In 2002, ATF reported, "A crime gun trace alone does not mean that an FFL or firearm purchaser has committed an unlawful act." These statements have now disappeared from more recent ATF publications and reflects a shift in the official ATF position - such that ATF now considers individuals and dealers associated with multiple traces more likely to have committed criminal acts. Despite that many (if not most) traces are not directly connected to crime, a 2010 ATF eTrace PowerPoint Presentation to a United Nations Firearms Workshop publicly stated, "When you find several traces associated with multiple sales, you may have identified a straw purchaser", and "Identify FFL’s [dealers] in your Area Who May Cater to Criminals. By utilizing the Top Source Dealer report, you can potentially identify FFL’s who are known as a " criminal friendly FFL."
ATF firearms databases
The ATF Firearms Tracing System (FTS) contains firearm tracing information from millions of traces performed since 1989, and consists of several databases:
1. Multiple Sale Reports. Over 460,000 (2003) Multiple Sales reports (ATF F 3310.4 - a registration record with specific firearms and owner name and address - increasing by about 140,000 per year). Reported as 4.2 million records in 2010.
2. Suspect Guns. All guns "suspected" of being used for criminal purposes but not recovered by law enforcement. This database includes (ATF's own examples), individuals purchasing large quantities of firearms (including collectors of older firearms rarely used in crime), and dealers with "improper" record keeping. May include guns “observed” by law enforcement in an estate, or at a gun show, or elsewhere. Reported as 34,807 in 2010. 3. Traced Guns. Over 1.2 million (2002) detail results from all traces. ATF reported 343,746 guns were traced in 2009, and a total of 4 million traces since inception. This is a registration record which includes Names and Addresses of the first retail seller and purchaser.
4. Out of Business Records. Data is manually collected from paper Out-of-Business records (or input from computer records) and entered into the trace system by ATF. These are registration records, indexed by serial number, which include name and address, make, model, serial and caliber of the firearm(s), as well as data from the 4473 form - in digital or image format. In March, 2010, ATF reported receiving several hundred million records since 1968.
5. Theft Guns. Firearms reported as stolen to ATF. Contained 330,000 records in 2010. Contains only thefts from licensed dealers and interstate carriers (optional). Does not have an interface to the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) theft data base, where the majority of stolen, lost and missing firearms are reported.
Firearm data sources
For newer firearms not yet entered into the tracing system, ATF contacts the manufacturer or importer, wholesaler, and individual dealer to determine the identity of the first retail purchaser.
The Firearm Tracing System provides manual & automated data retrieval from:
All previous firearms traces from all sources, Dealer, Importer, and Manufacturer computer, paper or microfilm “Bound Book” Out-of-Business records (including digital files required by ATF Ruling 2008–2), Dealer “Bound Book” records (computer and/or paper) copied or photographed by ATF during annual inspections. ATF Form 4473 from dealers copied or photographed during annual inspections and in Out-of-Business records. Multiple Firearm Sales reports (ATF F 3310.4) Traditional phone calls to the manufacturer, distributor and final selling dealer, Additional data sources, such as some state firearms sales records as required by state law or policy. Dealer “Bound Books” over 20 years old voluntarily sent in to ATF. Includes some antique firearms allowed to be entered in “Bound Books”. Stolen firearms reported to ATF. (Note: Does not include stolen firearms reported to the FBI - NCIC, a separate system) System 2000 automated retrieval system from manufacturers, importers and distributors (100 companies as of 2010) Certain firearms dealers are required by ATF to report certain used firearms transaction to ATF for entry into the Firearms Tracing System. For every firearm reported stolen to the NCIC stolen firearms database, New Jersey now automatically submits a trace to ATF (NJ Trace System). ATF is reported as working on a similar program. Some state firearm registration systems are being loaded into the tracing system. In a press release, New Jersey admits tracing (from police records) all of private gun purchases into the ATF Firearms Tracing System through eTrace. By state law, New York and Connecticut also require tracing of all such private purchase firearms. ATF hired private consultants to catalog information on firearms and submit trace requests from police departments to ATF. ATF has imposed a requirement (pilot project) to report all dealer multiple sales (2 or more) of all semi-auto rifles with a detachable magazine greater than .22 caliber. (Currently restricted to California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas - border states with Mexico). Reported justification is to identify "straw purchasers" and weapons traffickers. However, this ruling will include 100-year-old Model 1907 Winchester rifles, WWII M1 Carbines, German G43 rifles, FN 49 rifles, and many other historic firearms of primary interest to collectors and are not known to be used by Mexican drug catels. William J. Hoover (ATF Acting Deputy Director) denied that ATF is seeking to create a national registry (a national registry already exists, see above), and said records would be kept for 24 months and then destroyed if not acted on by investigators. However, this is contrary to current ATF practice and neither assertion is supported by the documentation.
Firearms tracing reports
Criticism of eTrace statistics
As far back as 1992, and as recently as 2009, the Congressional Research Service has warned about the use of statistics from ATF's tracing system. "The ATF tracing system is an operational system designed to help law enforcement agencies identify the ownership path of individual firearms. It was not designed to collect statistics."
According to the Congressional Research Service, the information from firearms searches is limited and may be biased by several factors: