NCJ Number
94491
Date Published
1982
Length
92 pages
Annotation
The hearing focused on the law enforcement activities of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) during the first half of fiscal 1982, a period when the agency was threatened repeatedly with cutbacks and reorganization by the Administration and the Office of Management and Budget.
Abstract
A panel of BATF field-level managers first discussed high turnover and low staff morale caused by threatened cutbacks and abrupt shifts in Administration policy toward BATF. They supported the proposed transfer of BATF's firearms and explosives criminal enforcement functions to the U.S. Secret Service. All commented on the need for a firm decision on the Bureau's future. An official from the Treasury Department reviewed the Administration's plan to reassign all BATF functions to the Secret Service and the Customs Service and supported the need for Congress to approve supplemental funding so that BATF could continue its law enforcement activities until a decision regarding the proposed reorganization is made. The executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police emphasized that the law enforcement community could not afford continued delays and indecision concerning BATF and said that the agency had been extremely effective on the national and international levels. An officer of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association used his personal experiences as a New York City field agent to illustrate BATF's problems during the last year. Witnesses prepared statements, relevant committee correspondence and government agency memorandums, as well as an article are appended.