NCJ Number
142854
Date Published
1992
Length
45 pages
Annotation
This report to the ranking minority member of the U.S. Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means presents results from a General Accounting Office survey to determine whether licensees had encountered problems with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) compliance inspections, whether licensees had complained to ATF about their problems, whether those licensees who complained believed ATF had fairly addressed their complaints, and how well licensees believed ATF was conducting its regulatory responsibilities.
Abstract
ATF headquarters reported there have not been many licensee complaints; however, ATF had not developed either a system for recording licensee complaints about inspections or guidelines for area offices to use to address licensee complaints. Officials contacted at four area offices said they seldom, if ever, received complaints and that the offices did not have systems to record them. A survey of ATF-inspected licensees found that few licensees complained about inspections. Of the 283 licensees who responded to the questionnaire, 26 reported having problems with ATF inspections. Of those reporting problems, 15 said the ATF inspectors were able to resolve all their problems. Of the 11 remaining licensees, only one complained to higher level ATF officials, and he believed his complaint had been handled fairly. Only one licensee who complained to an inspector believed his complaint had been handled somewhat unfairly. Appended survey results