ATF’s Key Role in Multi-Agency Violent Crime Task Forces

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) plays a crucial role in multi-agency task forces focused on reducing violent crime across the United States. These task forces bring together federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to share information, resources and expertise in order to more effectively combat gun violence and other violent crimes.

ATF is uniquely positioned to contribute to these efforts due to its specific expertise related to firearms and explosives[3]. The agency traces guns used in crimes, conducts forensic analysis on ballistics evidence, and maintains databases to identify patterns and share intelligence. This allows ATF to connect cases across jurisdictions and identify broader networks of gun traffickers fueling violence.

By partnering with agencies like the FBI, DEA, US Marshals and local police departments in joint task forces, ATF can leverage its specialized capabilities to help solve crimes and take down violent criminal organizations. Its contributions have been crucial in achieving many high-profile successes of multi-agency violent crime task forces.

Key Task Force Models

There are several models of joint task forces focused on violent crime that ATF participates in:

• Violent Crime Impact Teams (VCITs) – ATF-led task forces specifically focused on identifying and disrupting networks trafficking in firearms to violent criminals.
• Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Forces – FBI-led task forces targeting gang-related violent crime.
• High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Forces – DEA-led task forces combating drug trafficking and related violence.
• Fugitive Task Forces – US Marshals-led task forces focused on apprehending violent fugitives.

While each task force has a different focus and leadership structure, ATF contributes its specialized expertise across all models. The various agencies also coordinate to ensure efforts are not duplicated across the task forces operating in a given district.

ATF’s Violent Crime Impact Teams

ATF’s Violent Crime Impact Teams demonstrate the agency’s central role in leveraging federal-local partnerships and crime gun intelligence to reduce violent crime. VCITs bring together ATF agents, local police, prosecutors and other agencies[1] to identify and disrupt networks trafficking guns to prohibited individuals in high-crime areas.

Key strategies employed by VCITs include:

• Identifying “crime guns” recovered at crime scenes and rapidly tracing them to identify trafficking patterns.
• Integrating intelligence from ballistics analysis to link firearms recovered at crime scenes to other violent crimes.
• Using gun tracing and other investigative tools to identify and prosecute gun traffickers supplying firearms to criminals.
• Seizing illegally possessed firearms through criminal investigations and partnerships with local law enforcement.

By focusing enforcement on disrupting gun trafficking networks, VCITs aim to reduce the supply of firearms to prohibited and violent criminals. Between 2004-2006, VCITs investigated over 17,300 defendants and recommended 10,700 for prosecution, achieving impressive results in reducing violent crime in targeted areas. This demonstrates the success of ATF’s model for leveraging crime gun intelligence through collaborative task force investigations.

Coordinating Investigations Across Task Forces

With numerous federal, state and local task forces potentially operating in the same jurisdictions, coordination is crucial to avoid duplication of efforts. Agencies employ various strategies to ensure coordination:

• Cross-designating agents to facilitate information sharing across task forces.
• Co-locating task forces and participating in joint management meetings.
• Tracking investigations across task forces and regularly sharing intelligence.
• Establishing clear guidelines on roles and responsibilities of each task force.

For example, FBI Violent Gang Task Forces focus specifically on gang-related crimes[4], while ATF VCITs zero in on disrupting gun trafficking networks regardless of whether they involve gangs. This ensures efforts complement each other rather than duplicating work.

ATF also participates in “deconfliction” systems that allow agencies to coordinate investigations and avoid hazardous overlap – for example, ensuring two task forces don’t conduct sting operations targeting the same trafficker network.

Challenges Facing Task Force Coordination

While coordination across violent crime task forces has improved, some challenges remain:

• Agencies may be protective of information sources, hindering intelligence sharing.
• Differing agency cultures and protocols hamper collaboration.
• Task force performance metrics create competition rather than cooperation.
• Jurisdictional conflicts over high-profile investigations.
• Inconsistent participation from local law enforcement agencies.

Addressing these challenges requires continuous effort to develop relationships, align incentives, establish information sharing protocols and focus all partners on the joint mission of reducing violent crime rather than narrow agency interests.

ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers

ATF operates multi-agency Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs) across the country which serve as hubs for crime gun intelligence sharing and coordination between ATF and local law enforcement. These centers facilitate comprehensive tracing and ballistics analysis[5] to identify cross-jurisdictional gun trafficking patterns and trends. The centers represent one model for facilitating intelligence sharing and coordination across agencies to better leverage information for reducing gun violence.

Future Outlook

Violent crime task forces will continue evolving to meet new challenges. For example, task forces are expanding coordination across state lines and internationally to address gun and drug trafficking networks that increasingly cross jurisdictions. Data sharing and analytical capabilities are also improving to leverage crime gun intelligence and ballistics evidence on a wider scale.

ATF’s specialized expertise and resources will remain crucial in driving future progress. By spearheading initiatives like VCITs and CGICs while also collaborating across the spectrum of violent crime task forces, ATF will continue serving as an indispensable partner in joint efforts to disrupt gun trafficking networks and reduce violent crime.

References

1. Review of ATF’s Violent Crime Impact Team Initiative, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, 2006.
2. ATF Frontline, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 2008.
3. Evaluation of Multi-Jurisdictional Task Forces Project: Phase I Final Report, DOJ National Institute of Justice, 2009.
4. The “Crime Gun Intelligence Center” Model, Police Executive Research Forum, 2013.
5. Federal Fugitive Apprehension: Agencies Taking Action to Improve Coordination and Cooperation, United States General Accounting Office, 1995.