Dear Folks:
Eighteen months after the Instant Check began, the FBI invited a bunch of folks to Clarksburg, WVa. to see the operation, learn about how it worked or didn't work, and ask questions. I was one of the few who showed up. The system is really sevaral data bases linked together. At that time, the way it worked was the dealer called in and the call was taken at one of two call centers. The folks on the line at this level were not FBI agents or even federal workers, but contract workers. When the dealer read the information to them and they typed it into the computer, one of three words would appear: proceed, denied or delayed. Because these folks were not federal agents they weren't allowed to see any official records. So, if you had any kind of federal record, these folks would only see the word "delayed". They didn't know if you were a bank robber or somebody with a federal license like a pilot. If you were delayed, the call was transfered to a federal official, an FBI Documents Examiner, who had the authority to look at the records to see what kind of record it was. When the checks began, there were relatively few of these folks and the ones that existed ususally had enough seniority that they didn't have to work many weekends, so gun show purchases were often delayed. Since then, it is my understanding that they have hired more of these folks and most delays are handled immediately rather than requiring them to call back. However, there are still problems every once in a while. If you were in the military and had a special clearance, the agent who looks at your record has to have a clearance above that one. An other, more common example, occures with small jurisdictions where you might have been cited but not convicted. State and local records are notoriously bad. Another problem is with the name recognition. When Congress passed the legislation that created the instant check, they specified that it had to be a name recognition system, not one that relied on any other form of identification such as a social security number. That is why the 4473 states that it is optional--you don't have to give it and if your name is Smith, Jones, Brown, etc, it probably won't do any good. Then there are problems with the softward that can cause delay. The software is written so that it checks all the possible spellings of your name. It also checks all the possible combinations of first and middle names with the same initial. For example, if the good guys are looking for a bad guy name Raymond Uganda Smythe, and your name is Ralph Ulysses Smith, you will probably be delayed until they are certain you're not the bad guy trying to use an alias. Finally, there is the fact that when they run your name, they run it through seven or eight different data bases opearated by the FBI. What that means is that if any one of those separate systems is down, they can't complete the NICS check. You might leave the gun shop and get pulled over for speeding and have the officer check the system he has access to, and it will be working fine. However, one of the other systems can be down and that prevents the NICS check from going through. Hope this offers some insight into the system. If you have any more questions you think I might be able to answer, just let me know.