United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-02-29 monographic deposited born digital 100 p. GA 1.13:GGD/AIMD-00-64 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64 P0b002ee18039dba3 f:g100064 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64 GGD/AIMD-00-64 Law enforcement information systems Gun control law Firearms State law Law enforcement agencies Federal aid for criminal justice Crimes or offenses FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System NCIC 2000 System FBI Interstate Identification Index FBI Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System DOJ National Criminal History Improvement Program Letter Report GGD AIMD

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on a wide variety of topics related to the permanent provisions (phase II) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, focusing on: (1) statistics on background checks, denials, and appeals; (2) enforcement actions; (3) the National Instant Criminal Background Check System's (NICS) operations; and (4) pawnshop issues.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) almost 9 million background checks were conducted during the first year of NICS operations; (2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted about half of these background checks, and designated state agencies conducted the other half; (3) approximately three-quarters of the background checks done by the FBI resulted in the federal firearms licensees' being allowed to immediately transfer the firearms to the potential buyers; (4) the remainder of the FBI background checks were delayed to allow FBI NICS examiners research time to establish a basis for making proceed or deny determinations; (5) the FBI reported (on the basis of a sample of delayed transactions researched by selected examiners) that for about 80 percent of the delayed transactions, the examiners made a proceed or a deny determination within 2 hours; (6) the remainder of the delayed transactions, 20 percent, took hours or days to reach a determination, generally because the FBI examiners needed to contact local or state resources for additional information; (7) depending upon the circumstances, there are various enforcement actions that the federal government can take against individuals who do not acknowledge their prohibited status on the firearm-purchase form; (8) for example, individuals who knowingly falsify their status on this form can be criminally prosecuted under federal law; (9) nationally, for fiscal year 1999, Executive Office for U.S. Attorney (EOUSA) data indicate that 2,272 defendants charged for alleged firearms related false-statement violations and alleged possession violations were convicted and that 43 percent of these defendants received a sentence in excess of 5 years; (10) EOUSA could not specifically identify how many of these cases involve Brady-related charges; (11) although NICS has been operational for 15 months, it has yet to be authorized as secure in accordance with the Department of Justice's own requirements, and attempts to do so have been delayed; (12) further delays in authorizing NICS will expose the system and the data it processes about individuals to unnecessary risk; and (13) therefore, it is extremely important that the FBI fulfill its commitment to authorize NICS by March 31, 2000. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64.pdf GAO/GGD/AIMD-00-64 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-AIMD-00-64 Letter Report GAO/GGD/AIMD-00-64; Gun Control: Implementation of the National Instant; Law enforcement information systems Gun control law Firearms State law Law enforcement agencies Federal aid for criminal justice Crimes or offenses FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System NCIC 2000 System FBI Interstate Identification Index FBI Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System DOJ National Criminal History Improvement Program Title 18 Section 21 Title 18 Section 26 Title 18 Section 922 Title 18 Section 922(a)(6) Title 18 Section 922(g) Title 18 Section 922(n) Title 18 Section 922(s) Title 18 Section 922(t) Title 18 Section 924 18 U.S.C. 21 18 U.S.C. 26 18 U.S.C. 922 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(6) 18 U.S.C. 922(g) 18 U.S.C. 922(n) 18 U.S.C. 922(s) 18 U.S.C. 922(t) 18 U.S.C. 924 Public Law 90-618 Public Law 93-579 Public Law 103-159 Public Law 103-322 Public Law 105-277 Public Law 106-58 Title 28 Part 25.5 28 CFR Part 25.5 Title 28 Part 25.10 28 CFR Part 25.10