Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Headquarters: 650
Massachusetts Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC 20226
Phone: 202-927-8500
Employees: 4,758
Acting Director: Kenneth Melson
Website: http://www.atf.gov
Career
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
(ATF) is a law enforcement agency within the United States Department
of Justice. The ATF's mission is to protect America against crime,
violence, and other types of threats to the public, such as terrorism.
In order to achieve this goal the ATF enforces Federal laws and
regulations relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives,
and arson.
Other responsibilities of the ATF include collecting revenue and supervising federal crime prevention programs.
On November 25, 2002, (after 9/11), the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 split the Bureau of Tobacco and
Firearms into two different sections:
--- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was renamed
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE).
It is now a part of the Justice Department. Its main responsibility
is law enforcement.
-- The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau remains in the
Treasury Department. This section oversees tax collection.
ATF works in Iraq with the Combined Explosives Exploitation Cell (CEXC), whose role is to provide immediate, in-theater technical and operational analysis of improvised explosives devices (IED) used by insurgents.
ATF also operates the U.S. Bomb Data Center, the DOJ repository for all explosives and arson information and databases. One of those databases, the Bomb Arson Tracking System, allows State, local, and other Federal law enforcement agencies to share information about bomb and arson cases and incidents.
Kenneth Melson became Acting Director of the agency on April 12, 2009.
