The ATF, charged with policing the gun industry, lets dealers get away with falsifying records and selling firearms without background checks.
The programs, policies, and people driving positive change in America’s gun violence problem.
American lives, shaped by guns.
The National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful special interest groups in America. We’re investigating how it spends its money.
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How We Fix This
The gun background check system is only as good as the records it contains. How one affable bureaucrat helped Louisiana set the standard for flagging people banned from owning firearms.
Community Violence
The arrest of Francisco Sanchez for illegal gun possession adds to the troubles facing Cure Violence in its hometown.
ATF
Sellers of "solvent traps" were pushing the legal envelope. The bureau noticed.
The agency tasked with enforcing federal gun laws hasn’t had a permanent director for 8 of the last 10 years.
Internal memo called for federal officers to flood the city's highest-crime neighborhoods.
Ronald Turk, second in command at the agency, said his controversial memo was intended to spark an overdue conversation about outdated rules.
Data
DOJ Inspector General says the agency's oversight of the sources it pays to build cases needs "significant improvement."
“My hope and goal is to just speak truth,” wrote Zachary Fardon, who resigned this week as the city’s top prosecutor.
Background Checks
Security experts see danger in a Justice Department policy that weakens the system for screening firearms buyers wanted by law enforcement.
More people with outstanding arrest warrants will be able to legally buy guns under new rule.
Q & A
Andrew Boss leads a 17-person task force based in the Bronx.
Cure Violence is expanding in the five boroughs.
Law Enforcement
Former officials say the memo could be a pitch for the agency's top job.
Cure Violence has shown promise in reducing violent crime. But with its funding slashed in its home city, a few remaining foot soldiers are struggling to make a difference in neighborhoods gripped by fear.
“These tools are not replacing people,” says Deputy Chief Jonathan Lewin, “but they improve our capacity to do our job."
Plus eight other charts from the University of Chicago Crime Lab that help explain the city's soaring homicide numbers.
