NEW WEAPON AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE

Federal system tracks firearms used in crimes

Illegal gun traffickers beware: Law enforcement officials are now equipped with a new nationwide computer system to track you down.

The system, called Online Lead, was activated for full-time use in all 331 field offices of the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

It quickly provides investigators information about guns used during crimes.  Previously, they would have to wait for such information - stored on computer discs - to be shipped to ATF field offices, a potentially time-consuming process.

But just as important, law enforcement officials said, is that the sophisticated software in the new computer system will make it much easier for investigators to analyze data on guns used in crimes, helping them identify trends and patterns to track down illegal gun traffickers and get illegal guns off the streets.

Although police and other local law enforcement officials can’t tap directly into the system on their own, they can access the system through ATF.

The system will be updated frequently and will provide information on guns used in crimes within 24 hours after a trace has been completed.  Officials said steps have been taken to make sure the system is safe from hackers.

Local law enforcement officials are encouraged but not required to ask ATF to trace guns used during crimes.  The results of those traces are entered into a growing national database that has information on more than 1 million traced firearms.

The sophisticated software enables investigators to do broad as well as very specific searches, such as finding out how many traced crime guns have been reported for a specific city street or within a particular zip code.

Information about all firearms traced by the ATF goes into the national database and is available on the new system.  What agents can trace is limited.  They start with a gun’s make and serial number, moving forward from the manufacturer to a wholesaler and distributor to the first retail sale by a federally licensed gun dealer.