1140-0004 Justification (5-13)

Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Supporting Statement

1140-0004

Interstate Firearms Shipment Report of Theft/Loss

ATF F 3310.6

1. Justification

1. This report involves a voluntary program, prompted and participated in by shippers, common carriers, and consignees to report the loss or theft of firearms in interstate shipment. The information is used by ATF to investigate and develop criminal cases against individual(s) involved in this type of criminal activity. Title 18, United States Code, 922(j) makes it “unlawful for any person to receive, conceal, store, barter, sell or dispose of any stolen firearm or stolen ammunition which is moving as, which is a part of, or which constitutes, interstate or foreign commerce, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the firearm or ammunition was stolen”.

2. The form is used by victims to ensure that firearms stolen from their interstate shipments are reported to an interested law enforcement agency. The inter-jurisdictional nature of these types of thefts place State and local law enforcement agencies at a disadvantage in determining the appropriate jurisdiction and in conducting investigations.

The completed form is mailed to the ATF National Tracing Center for subsequent referral to the appropriate field office. ATF special agents use the information to ensure the stolen firearms data is entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), to initiate timely interstate theft investigations and to perfect criminal cases against individuals for violation of firearms laws.

3. ATF F 3310.6 is available on the ATF website as a fillable, printable form. Individuals with disabilities (508 Compliant) can access this form. ATF accepts an electronic copy of the completed form to expedite review and notification of law enforcement authorities. However, the original is requested to be mailed to the Tracing Center for inclusion in the investigative file.

4. ATF uses a uniform subject classification system to identify duplication and to ensure that any similar information already available cannot be used for the purpose of this information collection.

5. The collection of information has no impact on small businesses.

6. If this information was not collected it would eliminate any notification at the Federal level, and delay or eliminate ATF’s investigation into such thefts. It is necessary to report the thefts as they occur to ensure the timely investigation of the violation. Failure to do so would have a negative impact on the opportunities to identify the criminal suspects.

7. There are no special circumstances for this information collection and it is in conformance with the guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.6.

8. The ATF industry analyst consulted with the firearms industry during the creation of the form to ensure that the industry’s needs were met. A 60-day and 30-day FR notice was published in the Federal Register to solicit comments from the general public. No comments were received.

9. No payment or gift is associated with this collection.

10. The information on the form is entered into the National Crime Information Center. The information is submitted on a voluntary basis to facilitate the investigation of firearms thefts from interstate shipments.

11. No questions of a sensitive nature are asked.

12. The number of respondents associated with this information collection is 550. Each respondent responds 1 time therefore, the total annual number of responses is 550. It takes fewer than 20 minutes to complete the form. The total annual hours associated with this collection is 182.

13. There is no start-up cost to the respondent. The annual cost to the respondent is postage to mail the original form (.46 x 550 = $253). The cost on the 83-I form will be reported as 0 since the cost is to be reported in thousands of dollars.

14. The annual cost to the Federal Government is $1,495.00 in distribution expenditures.

15. The adjustment associated with this collection is an increase in the mail postal rate from $0.44 to $0.46.

16. The results of this information collection will not be published.

17. ATF does not request approval to not display the expiration date of OMB approval for this information collection.

18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

2. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

None

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