ATF Director Dettelbach: all right so I think
we're back from one so I'm going to say it one more time good afternoon all right thanks
for being here for uh the afternoon of the second day of ATF’s second annual Chiefs
of police executive forum on crime guns first one housekeeping matter uh for uh all the
chiefs of police who are here who have not yet or sheriffs who have not yet picked up
your uh your jurisdiction specific uh uh e-trace or NIBIN reports in the booths please come
by and get that before you go uh uh I hope that you found yesterday and this morning
uh insightful and rewarding I certainly know that I have and the chance to interact together
uh with all of you on behalf of all of ATF we are exceedingly grateful for uh as I said
yesterday just like all the Chiefs and sheriffs and law enforcement leaders in this room everything
we do at ATF begins and ends with Public Safety our mission is pretty simple help protect
the American people from violent crime and we cannot do that without working together
with all of you our incredible Partners we are facing an extremely serious threat a recent
study from Johns Hopkins reported that more than 130 people die from Firearms violence
every single day in the United States think about that 130 people every single day and
even more shocking as parents and leaders gun violence is now the leading cause of death
for kids in the United States I know that none of us in this room accept this as a status
quo because it is wholly unacceptable and fundamentally inconsistent with the values
of this great nation and despite this pounding Relentless tragedy that's before us despite
all of the bad things I am optimistic that we can make progress and I'll tell you after
meeting with you and hearing about the work that your folks are doing in cities and towns
across this country I'm more optimistic today than I was yesterday that is why I am very
very honored to introduce our next speaker when it comes to fighting violent crime the
American people need a leader an attorney general with three things a great brain a
big heart and a strong spine in this attorney general Americans have all three on the first
front attorney general Garland's coming to this meeting is right to the point the attorney
general has not only supported the use of new and Innovative tools like crime gun intelligence
to fight gun crime he has also pushed all of us harder to work smarter together in new
and creative ways all over the nation to to make sure that these data-driven efforts are
taken to their next levels the Attorney General's comprehensive strategy to fight violent crime
places our work ATF’s expertise in crime gun intelligence at the Forefront of some
of these efforts to protect Americans because he knows the importance of using intelligence
to develop actionable leads leads that can be shared with all our state and local partners
with the Chiefs here today and your departments to clear homicides leads that can be used
to show how Killers get their guns leads that interrupt the shooting cycle by getting Shooters
off our street before they kill and shoot again the attorney general has supported the
use of ballistic technology and crime data as new and Powerful Tools in that fight just
the kinds of things that this forum is all about attorney general Garland also has a
big heart anybody who works with them like so many of us do or even sees the Attorney
General interact with victims and survivors of crime anybody who sees him during Police
Week standing shoulder to shoulder with police officers the people that you lead knows that
attorney general has a deep connection and compassion with those who face the dangers
of gun crime and those who risk their lives to protect them and as far as a strong spine
over and over again in the wake of killings and massacres that would test any normal person's
metal this attorney general has been steadfast in his resolve to support the hard work that
state federal local and Tribal Law Enforcement do every single day to support the men and
women in blue to support the men and women at ATF to support the prosecutors who are
pressing ahead in case after case to hold people accountable and to uphold the rule
of law in today's difficult environment facing day after day and unacceptable level of Public
Safety threat and a threat that just keeps coming and coming I think it's plainly obvious
at this point that this attorney general has a spine of Steel and notice that I didn't
say that what we need now is a leader that just has a big mouth because words are not
sufficient words are not enough to deal with the issue facing the American public when
it comes to gun crime in fighting crime attorney general Garland understands and lives out
The Credo that actions speak louder than words and that more than anything else is why he
is here today because the hard important and Innovative work being done by DOJ ATF and
the police departments all across the nation including the ones that all the Chiefs here
represent do offer hope that things can get better because he is said over and over that
NIBIN that e-trace and our law enforcement Partnerships are Central to our efforts to
protect Americans and he has backed up those words with actions he has supported those
efforts ladies and gentlemen it is my deep honor to introduce the 86th Attorney General
of the United States of America The Honorable Merrick B Garland Attorney General Garland: I heard part of
that introduction, more generous than appropriate, but I’m still grateful. Thanks, Steve. Thanks for your leadership and support for
the extraordinary men and women of the ATF. I know you are nearing the end of this year’s
forum. But I couldn’t miss the chance to thank
the law enforcement leaders who have traveled so far from across the country to be here
at ATF headquarters this week. We have an enormous amount of respect for
the work that you and your departments do every day to keep your communities safe. You are asked not only to combat violent crime,
but also to serve as first responders to some of our most entrenched social problems. In doing this work, you and your officers
regularly face extremely dangerous situations and bear witness to tragedy that thankfully,
most Americans never have to see. And as the leaders of your departments, you
are often the ones who are asked to console and reassure your communities when a horrific
act of gun violence occurs. In the wake of every mass shooting and every
act of gun violence that touches your communities, even the ones that don’t make headlines,
people who are scared and in mourning turn to you for support and answers. The fact that these acts continue to happen,
in community after community, is heartbreaking, and it is unacceptable. All of us at the Justice Department, and especially
the agents and professionals of ATF, recognize that our work together in the fight against
gun violence has never been more urgent than it is now. So, we are accelerating our efforts on every
front. First, we are marshalling the resources of
every one of our 25 ATF Field Divisions and our 94 United States Attorneys’ Offices
to investigate and prosecute the recidivists who are responsible for the greatest gun violence. Our prosecutors and agents are deploying every
available authority we have to crack down on criminal gun trafficking pipelines and
keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them. Shortly after I was sworn in as Attorney General,
I announced that the Department would launch strike forces in five key corridors across
the country to target the communities where criminal gun-trafficking pipelines are bringing
in illegal guns. Since then, ATF’s work on those strike forces
has resulted in the prosecution of 682 defendants and the seizure of more than 4,000 illegal
guns, including almost 300 machineguns and machine gun conversion devices. Our prosecutions of unlicensed firearms dealing
has also increased – by 52% between 2021 and 2022. And we expect them to continue to increase
again this year. We are also continuing to implement the expanded
background check requirements and new firearms trafficking provisions that Congress enacted
last year as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Thanks to those requirements, more than 200
firearms have been kept out of the hands of young people who should not have access to
them. And we have already charged more than 100
defendants under the Act’s new gun trafficking provisions and seized hundreds of firearms
in connection with those cases. Second, we are maximizing the capacity of
our grantmaking components to provide law enforcement agencies and communities across
the country with targeted support and assistance. Last year, we awarded more than $139 million
for the COPS Hiring Program – to enable law enforcement agencies across the country
to hire additional full-time law enforcement professionals. In the coming year, we will award even more,
with over $224 million dedicated to the COPS Hiring Program. The Department is also funding evidence-informed,
community-centered initiatives aimed at preventing and disrupting gun violence. That includes funds that allow communities
to implement the extreme risk protection order laws and programs that we know save lives. Third, ATF and the entire Department are doubling
down on what we know to be some of the most effective tools we have against violent crime
– our partnerships with all of you. Today, ATF SACs, agents, and experts are working
more closely than ever with their state and local partners to disrupt the entire cycle
of gun violence – from the places where illegally trafficked guns originated, to the
communities where the shootings are often concentrated. I want to provide just a few examples of what
that partnership looks like in practice. In January of this year, there was a horrific
mass shooting in Goshen, California, that left six people dead, including a mother and
her 10-month-old baby. ATF San Francisco immediately responded and
worked with local law enforcement, including rushing cartridge casing evidence across the
country to conduct DNA testing in ATF labs. That led to the identification of one of the
alleged shooters. And when law enforcement officers executing
the warrant for the shooter’s arrest came under fire, the ATF Special Response Team
was there to take down the shooter – and then to render life-saving medical aid so
he can stand trial for his crimes. In March of this year, a federal jury in the
Southern District of Illinois convicted four leaders of the Gangster Disciples street gang
for their participation in a years-long conspiracy involving drug trafficking, three murders,
and two attempted murders. This conviction was the result of years of
work by ATF Cape Girardeau alongside their state, local, and federal partners. And earlier this month, ATF Philadelphia and
the Delaware County Drug Task Force conducted federal arrest and search warrants related
to the ongoing investigation of a suspected firearms trafficker. The arrests came after a months-long operation
in which agents conducted the controlled purchase of 51 firearms from the alleged trafficker. Using NIBIN, ATF was able to determine that
16 of those firearms had been linked to 27 shootings associated with an ongoing ATF Louisville
street gang investigation. These examples represent just a small fraction
of the work that our ATF SACs and their offices are doing alongside their state and local
partners. I am very proud of them. These cases also make clear the power of ATF’s
crime gun intelligence capabilities. This includes the Crime Gun Intelligence Centers
operating in every ATF Field Division, which coordinate comprehensive tracing and ballistics
analysis. It includes NIBIN, the tool that allows ATF
to turn the evidence that your departments collect at crime scenes into concrete leads. Since June of last year, ATF has generated
nearly 200,000 leads on violent criminals because of ballistics evidence that was submitted
to NIBIN. NIBIN is an extremely powerful tool, and one
that gets even more powerful the more information is submitted. That is why in December, the Deputy Attorney
General issued a policy requiring that all firearms and fired cartridges recovered in
connection with every federal investigation, including those by federally funded task forces,
be submitted to NIBIN. We are continuing to work with our state,
local, and Tribal partners to help them submit ballistics evidence to the NIBIN system on
a timely basis. I urge all of you to do everything in your
power to keep your departments’ NIBIN submissions as up to date as possible. We are also working to increase participation
in ATF’s eTrace program, which serves as a central online database for firearms data
across jurisdictions. Now, we recognize that there can be barriers
to using the eTrace system, which is why ATF is implementing a pilot program called eTrace
DIRECT. The program allows law enforcement agencies
that use a centralized Records/Case Management System to fully automate submission of firearms
data to eTrace. The program eliminates unnecessary paperwork
by automatically generating a trace request any time firearms data is entered into your
standard case management system. We have successfully deployed eTrace [DIRECT]
as a pilot program in partnership with the Kentucky State Police. And we are now expanding it to several other
large federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. All of our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and ATF
Field Divisions have also designated coordinators to work with our law enforcement partners
to tackle the threat of ghost guns. This year, ATF has established a division
here at headquarters dedicated to supporting these coordinators in each field division. And it has updated its regulations to make
it harder for criminals and other prohibited persons to get their hands on these untraceable
guns. That work will continue. As I said at the outset, all of us at the
Justice Department recognize the urgency of our shared work to protect our communities
and our country from gun violence. We are sparing no resources to hold accountable
those who perpetrate this violence, as well as those who put illegal guns in the hands
of violent criminals. We recognize that so much of the work to combat
violent crime falls on your shoulders. We are committed to doing everything we can
to provide you with the partnership and the support that you need and that you deserve. Thank you for coming to this year’s forum. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart,
for all that you do for your communities, and for our country. Have a good remainder of your day.
