For example, users can search by a firearm's serial number, individual name, type of crime, date of recovery, and numerous other identifiers.
[5][6] Each participating law enforcement agency must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ATF and designate each authorized user by name.
"[10] In 2002, ATF reported, "A crime gun trace alone does not mean that an FFL or firearm purchaser has committed an unlawful act.
Despite that many (if not most) traces are not directly connected to crime, a 2010 ATF eTrace PowerPoint Presentation to a United Nations Firearms Workshop publicly stated, "When you find several traces associated with multiple sales, you may have identified a straw purchaser", and "Identify FFL’s [dealers] in your Area Who May Cater to Criminals.
"[17] According to the Congressional Research Service, the information from firearms searches is limited and may be biased by several factors: On June 9, 2009 the Department of Homeland Security criticized ATF's tracing system, observing that it has numerous problems with data collection and sample populations which render some of ATF's statistics as unreliable.
On many occasions, either ATF or CENAPI would go in and try to enter the full and correct data on a firearm only to find that DHS had already started an entry in ETrace causing problems.
'Most trace requests that are submitted to ATF from Mexico are considered “unsuccessful” because of missing or improperly entered gun data'.
[25] ATF publicized global eTrace access in United Nations Disarmament Marking and Tracing Workshops held in Nairobi, Kenya in December, 2007, Lomé, Togo in April, 2008, Rio de Janeiro in June, 2008, and other locations.
ATF reports over 2,000 agencies around the world and over 10,000 individuals have access to first purchaser American gun owner personal information.
Colombia and Mexico were provided with their own in-country tracing centers with full access to ATF firearm registration records.
In Colombia, a joint ATF-CNP Center for Anti-Explosives Information and Firearms Tracing (CIARA) opened on December 6, 2006.
[27] In Mexico, The National Center for Information, Analysis and Planning in order to Fight Crime (CENAPI) was established in 2003.
ATF states these are models for planned future tracing centers throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean Basin.
Police agencies in 48 foreign countries have been provided with eTrace software and are given access to first purchaser American gun owner names, addresses drivers license and Social Security numbers.
[47] Senior Mexican law enforcement authorities interviewed by U.S. OIG officers do not view gun tracing as an important investigative tool because it implicates only the innocent and legitimate parties in the gun production and distribution network, due to limitations in the information tracing typically provides.
[49] Mexican Army officials interviewed by OIG personnel said their role is to safeguard the weapons and that they have no specific authority to assist in trafficking investigations.
To gain access to the weapons, ATF officials must make a formal request to the Attorney General of Mexico for each gun, citing a specific reason that access is needed, demonstrating that the requested information is related to a Mexican criminal investigation, and providing a description of the gun with the serial number.
[49] Due to these barriers, ATF and wider Department efforts to gain access to weapons in Mexican military custody have not been successful.
According to the U.S. State Department, Americans have become victims of harassment, mistreatment and extortion by Mexican law enforcement and other officials.
[55] In Mexico (as in many other countries), anyone accused of a crime is "guilty until proven innocent", and cash bail may be the only option to avoid incarceration.
[57] However, under Project Gunrunner, Operations "Fast and Furious", "Too Hot to Handle" and others, are alleged to have done the opposite by ATF permitting and facilitating 'straw purchase' firearm sales to traffickers, and allowing the guns to 'walk' and be transported to Mexico.
[58] When U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered 14 December 2010, suspicions centered on "Fast and Furious" weapons.
The break in the case can be traced to a 22 December 2010 posting on the Forums (Message Board) of the CleanUpATF web site[citation needed] by "1desertrat", who stated "One of these ["Fast and Furious"] rifles is rumored to have been linked to the recent killing of a Border Patrol Officer in Nogales, AZ.
Indictments filed in federal court, documentation obtained by Senator Grassley, and statements of ATF agents obtained by Senator Grassley and CBS News, show that the ATF Phoenix Field Division allegedly allowed and facilitated the sale of over 2,500 firearms (AK-47 rifles, FN 5.7mm pistols, AK-47 pistols, and .50 caliber rifles) in 'straw man purchases' likely destined for Mexico.
One specific gun, an SKS rifle recovered at the scene, is alleged to be the weapon used to murder Customs and Border Protection Agent Brian Terry on 14 December 2010.
[78] “An alleged trafficker in the X Caliber case, Fidel Hernandez, told investigators at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF] that he was “selling the guns to people who were ‘cops’ in Mexico.” According to ATF’s report, “At this location, approximately one mile inside Mexico, Hernandez would meet with the Mexican police officers, who were in uniform.