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from the A.P. via CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/05/29/guns.background.checks.ap/
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/05/29/guns.background.checks.ap/
FBI raises instant response rate in gun background checks
Thursday, May 29, 2003 Posted: 6:40 PM EDT (2240 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nine out of 10 gun purchases are now subject to instant FBI criminal background checks, a marked improvement over the response rate from two years ago, the Justice Department reported Thursday.
Only about 9 percent of transactions now face delays, mainly due to technology improvements that have reduced the rate of false matches in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. The immediate response rate rose from 71 percent average in early 2001 to 91 percent in 2002.
The improvement means that most gun dealers now can get information immediately over the phone or via computer about whether a prospective firearms purchaser is a convicted felon or is prohibited from buying a weapon.
In the past, many dealers had to wait for an FBI agent to review records and make a final determination. Dealers are permitted to sell the gun if no answer is received in three days, sometimes requiring federal agents to attempt to retrieve the firearm if a denial later comes in.
In a statement, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the improvements "are helping make our country safer by barring access to firearms by felons, illegal aliens and others who cannot legally own guns."
Some critics say the laws are still inadequate to keep guns away from terrorists and criminals, and they cite a provision that allows unchecked sales at gun shows. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, recently released a Congressional Research Service study showing that U.S. lists of known terrorists are not included in the NICS databases.
"Speed should not be a barometer for success with this background check," said Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. "These statistics show the system is getting faster, not smarter."
Justice Department officials say they are working with states to improve the accuracy of criminal history records. Also, more State Department and FBI terrorist databases are being integrated into the NICS system, they say.
The report shows that NICS, part of a 10-year-old gun control law, combined with state check systems has processed more than 36 million background checks, with about 563,000 denials.
The combined federal and state system processed 8.9 million background checks in 2001, with 125,000 denials of permission to purchase a gun. In 2002, the numbers were 8.4 million checks and 121,000 denials.
Other items in the report:
• The most frequent reason a person is denied a gun is a felony criminal history, covering 58 percent of all federal denials. Other reasons are criminal misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, domestic violence restraining orders, drug abuse history, having a dishonorable military discharge, being an illegal alien or being a fugitive from justice.
• Almost 2,400 licensed gun dealers use a computer "E-Check" system to check purchaser backgrounds.
• About 37 percent of total gun transactions involve pawn shops, with 63 percent involving retail businesses.
• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was asked to retrieve 3,429 weapons that should not have been sold, out of more than 4.2 million background checks done by NICS in 2002. That is down 736 from the 2001 number.
• The FBI handles all background checks for 31 states and does long gun checks for another 10 states. Fourteen states do entirely their own background checks, with 10 doing solely handgun checks.
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.