The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is a law enforcement agency in the United States' Department of Justice that protects communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, and the illicit use and trafficking of firearms, explosives, and alcohol and tobacco products
. Its responsibilities include:
- Investigating and preventing federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives
- Acts of arson and bombings
- Illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products
- Regulating the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in interstate commerce
- Providing support to state and local investigators through the National Integrated Ballistic Identification Network (NIBIN) program
- Enforcing provisions of the Safe Explosives Act, which restricts the use and possession of explosives without a federal license
ATF's activities are often carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods
. The ATF operates a unique fire research laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed
. The agency has 26 field offices across the nation in major cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, and others
