ATF Referrals for Criminal Prosecution: 1985 - 2002

  Fiscal  
Year
Criminal Referrals to:
  Federal,
  State/Local  
Prosecutors*
Federal
Prosecutors
  Only**  
1985 2,186 na
1986 3,663 3,840
1987 3,989 3,841
1988 4,767 4,673
1989 6,823 5,580
1990 7,797 6,985
1991 10,149 9,008
1992 12,084 9,885
1993 10,818 8,697
1994 8,676 7,859
1995 8,612 7,540
1996 ***6,576 (7,471) 5,933
1997 ***5,376 (6,302) 5,496
1998 ***5,620 (6,470) 5,510
1999 (na) 8,386
2000 (na) 9,943
2001 (na) 11,208
2002 (na) 13,610
2003**** (na) est. 16,606

* ATF House appropriation testimony and ATF internal case summaries; series covers firearms
referrals which generally account for 90 percent or more of all ATF referrals.
**TRAC compiled from Justice Department internal data; series covers all ATF referrals to federal prosecutors.
Years 1986-1991 revised to reflect most recent analysis.
***ATF reports two figures. The first is what they define as weapons referrals; the second covers all their referrals.
****Number based upon the rate during first 5 months where 6,919 new referrals were recorded.
Copyright 2003, TRAC