Research Note: Firearms Tracing Data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms: An Occasionally Useful Law Enforcement Tool but a Poor Research Tool

Abstract

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) sometimes traces the history of firearms used in crime. Typically, the trace reveals the gun's history from its manufacture to its sale by a licensed retail firearms dealer. BATF traces occasionally have been a useful tool for investigating individual crimes. In recent years, however, some persons have attempted to use BATF trace data to study gun violence and evaluate firearms policies. There are severe limitations on the utility of the BATF data for criminological analysis. These limits include the relatively small number of crime guns that BATF traces, BATF's rules about what guns it will not even attempt to trace, and the limited information supplied by gun traces. The authors suggest that BATF trace figures are not a sound foundation for criminological research.