National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Section FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division NICS Operational Update Presented by Lisa A. Vincent, NICS Unit Chief for the Appeal and Liaison Services Unit

2 NICS STATISTICS FY 2007* Program-to-Date (PTD)* State Inquiries ,040,452 40,929,229 Federal Inquiries ,136,883 42,345,756 Total NICS Inquiries ,177,335 83,274,985 NICS Section Immediate Proceeds ,662,435 35,247,348 NICS Section Denials , ,180 NICS Section Immediate Determination Rate (IDR) % * As of 12/31/2007

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4 Criminal History Records (CHR) The NICS Section proactively seeks record completing information. As a result of the efforts of the NICS Section’s staff, and as of 12/31/2007: Over 37,366 CHRs were updated in Over 630,345 CHRs were updated PTD. Over 14,688 dispositions were forwarded to the states for maintenance at the state level in Since 2004, over 59,342 records have been forwarded to the states. On 09/12-13/2007, the second annual Report, Educate and Associate Criminal Histories Conference was hosted at the CJIS Division. Participation included the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and representatives from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

5 NICS Outreach Efforts 4/04-05/2007, the NICS Section attended the Law Enforcement Exposition in New York. 7/11-12/2007, the NICS Section attended the Law Enforcement Exposition in Ohio. 10/01-05/2007: The NICS Section attended and participated in the Court Technology Conference in Tampa, Florida. As newcomers to this information- sharing forum, the NICS Section networked with court professionals from around the world regarding common interests such as training, communications, etc. Additionally, the NICS Section promoted Web cast training modules (which will be availed to judges, law enforcement officials, etc.) developed with the assistance of the BJS. Since the POC Support Team’s inception in 2003, it has held over 200 training events and trained over 5,600 individuals. These training events have occurred in states including Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Arizona, Montana, and Illinois.

6 Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence (MCDV ) and Processing Background Checks The NICS, with direction/guidance from the U. S. Department of Justice, implemented a change in the processing of possible MCDVs to more closely adhere to the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). The processing change applies to the element of “physical force” and the use of records of conviction and/or transcripts to prove the element as a contributing factor. Because of the potential for state law to reflect disjunctive elements, it is possible that MCDVs predicated on information such as contained in police reports would not qualify as an MCDV (conviction) under the GCA unless specific documentation (e.g., court transcripts) establishes such. The NICS Section implemented the aforementioned on 10/01/2007. The states are working towards compliance.

7 NICS Index As of 1/1/2008, there were 5,108,039 federally prohibiting records maintained in the NICS Index. Of these records, 518,499 entries are based on mental health information. The NICS Section continues to avidly promote the sharing of information with federal and state agencies specific to the benefits of submitting immediately disqualifying record information to the nationally-held NICS Index. The FBI also contributes records to the NICS Index (e.g., discovered when processing transactions or via individual submission to the FBI). As of 1/1/2008, approximately 46,092 records had been entered into the NICS Index by the NICS Section employees.

8 Discharge * As of 12/31/2007 Illegal/Unlawful Aliens 75.39% Denied Persons 13.89% Mental Defective 10.16% Dishonorable 0.30% Citizenship Renounced 0.25% Controlled Substance Abuse 0.01% Active Records in the NICS Index

9 NICS Index State Participation As of 12/31/2007 DC NE NY WI IN NH MD CA NV IL OR TN PA CT ID MT WY ND SD NM KS TX AR OK MN OH WV MSAL KY SC MO ME MA DE RI AZ NC UT FL NJ LA VT WA MI CO VA IA GA ME HI Guam N. Mariana Islands American Samoa Participating States Non-participating States AK Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands

10 NICS Index – Mental Health Information Submission Participation As of 12/31/2007 Contribute Mental Health Information Contribute Mental Health Information (less than 100 Submissions) Contribute Mental Health Information to the Denied Persons File Only Contribute Mental Health Information to both the Mental Defective File and the Denied Persons File WA OR ID NV UT AZ CA AK HI ME MT WY CO ND SD NE KS OK TX MN IA MO AR LA WI IL MS AL TN KY IN MI OH GA FL SC NC VA WV PA NY NH VT MA RI CT NJ DE MD DC Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Guam N. Mariana Islands American Samoa NM 4 2

11 NICS Index Growth Total Growth in all Categories As of 12/31/ ,002 1,035,870 1,043,667 1,114,072 2,876,192 3,373,292 3,643,712 3,938,257 4,116,105 5,108, ,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,0006,000,000 Number of Records

12 As of 12/31/2007 NICS Index Growth Mental Health Information 21 88,939 89,591 89, , , , , , , ,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,

13 Out-of-State Denials Based on State Submissions to the NICS Index * As of 12/31/2007 The following is evidence that prohibited persons do cross state lines in attempts to purchase firearms.* [710] [109] [62] [64] [245] [502] [62] Note: The aforementioned represents a sampling of states and is not all inclusive.

14 The NICS Index Continues to Grow California submitted approximately 203,103 submissions to the NICS Index Mental Defective File as of 12/31/2007. In 2007, the state of Ohio began submitting information to the NICS Index Mental Defective File. Approximately 7,845 records currently maintained in the NICS Index were submitted by Ohio officials. In 2007, the state of Kansas began submitting information to the NICS Index Mental Defective File. Approximately 2,308 records currently maintained in the NICS Index were submitted by Kansas officials.

15 NICS Contact Information FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Section 1000 Custer Hollow Road Clarksburg, WV NICS Customer Service: NICS (6427) NICS Section Chief: Bobby P. Hamil, Jr. (304) NICS Unit Chiefs Monica D. SniderJoey L. Hixenbaugh (304) (304) Lisa A. VincentGary A. Wick (304) (304)

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17 NICS Operational Update Questions?