May 12, 2000 - 07:55 PM
FBI Computer Problem Halts Gun Sales
Nationwide
By Michael J. Sniffen
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - All gun sales have been halted nationwide
since Thursday afternoon because an internal software problem in
the FBI criminal history database has temporarily halted instant
background checks of gun buyers, the FBI said Friday.
The FBI's Interstate Identification Index, a database that has the
criminal histories of 36 million people, stopped working late
Thursday afternoon. FBI and contractor employees expected to
have it working again by Saturday evening or Sunday morning, FBI
spokesman Paul Bresson said.
"It was an internal database problem, not the result of a hacking or
external attack," Bresson said.
Without background check approvals, gun dealers said that since
Thursday afternoon they have been forced to tell their customers to
wait for their guns until the system comes back up and the checks
can be completed.
The computer failure made it impossible to check the criminal
histories for past felony convictions that bar people from buying
guns. Also brought down by the software problem was the FBI's
automated fingerprint system, known as IAFIS for Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or
NICS, established under the Brady law to check whether
prospective buyers are legally eligible to purchase guns depends
on the Interstate Identification Index in its search for felony
convictions.
Even though gunstore owners in only about half the states file their
background check inquiries directly with the FBI, the failure
affected checks in all 50 states. In states where gun dealers place
background check requests with a state police agency, that state
agency checks the FBI's criminal histories by computer in addition
to its own records before approving or disapproving the sale.
"We can't release any guns to our customers until it's fixed," said
Art Harris, owner of The Gentleman Hunter in Bethesda, Md. "We
haven't lost any deals yet, but Saturday is our biggest day."
"I suppose some gun buyers are angry over the delay, but our
customers have been very understanding," Harris said.
When the system is working, 72 percent of gun purchases are
approved within 30 seconds, the Justice Department says. And 95
percent of buyers get an approval or a disapproval within two hours
of their application for purchase.
In its first 13 months of operation, the NICS system completed
more than 10 million background checks. Only 5 percent required
more than two hours to complete the background check.
"We had four prospective sales Friday, but we can't deliver the
guns because we can't get approvals," said Tommy Thacker,
manager of Loudoun Guns in Leesburg, Va. "We just tell them
we'll call them when the system is up."
In Virginia, gun dealers like Thacker are linked by computer with
the Virginia state police, but the state police are linked to the FBI
computer to check federal criminal history records. "So the state
can't give approvals," Thacker said.
"No one has gotten angry so far," Thacker said. "But it could get
sticky," because once the sale applications are accepted by the
computer for checking, the backlog could lengthen the time it
takes to complete the checks.
The Brady law gives law enforcement up to three business days to
complete a gun check, but the three-day period does not begin
until the computer accepts the application.
The computer failure threatened to create a backlog and a
weekend of extra work at the FBI Criminal Information Center in
Morgantown, W. Va., Bresson said. Federal officials said extra
workers were being called in to clear any backlog over the
weekend.
Other functions of the FBI's computerized National Crime
Information Center 2000, that serves state and local police as well
as federal agents around the nation, continued in service. The
unaffected computerized services included the FBI's lists of
wanted people, fugitives, stolen guns and stolen property.
AP-ES-05-12-00 1955EDT
© Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Brought to you by the Tampa Bay Online Network
FBI Computer Problem Halts Gun Sales
Nationwide
By Michael J. Sniffen
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - All gun sales have been halted nationwide
since Thursday afternoon because an internal software problem in
the FBI criminal history database has temporarily halted instant
background checks of gun buyers, the FBI said Friday.
The FBI's Interstate Identification Index, a database that has the
criminal histories of 36 million people, stopped working late
Thursday afternoon. FBI and contractor employees expected to
have it working again by Saturday evening or Sunday morning, FBI
spokesman Paul Bresson said.
"It was an internal database problem, not the result of a hacking or
external attack," Bresson said.
Without background check approvals, gun dealers said that since
Thursday afternoon they have been forced to tell their customers to
wait for their guns until the system comes back up and the checks
can be completed.
The computer failure made it impossible to check the criminal
histories for past felony convictions that bar people from buying
guns. Also brought down by the software problem was the FBI's
automated fingerprint system, known as IAFIS for Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or
NICS, established under the Brady law to check whether
prospective buyers are legally eligible to purchase guns depends
on the Interstate Identification Index in its search for felony
convictions.
Even though gunstore owners in only about half the states file their
background check inquiries directly with the FBI, the failure
affected checks in all 50 states. In states where gun dealers place
background check requests with a state police agency, that state
agency checks the FBI's criminal histories by computer in addition
to its own records before approving or disapproving the sale.
"We can't release any guns to our customers until it's fixed," said
Art Harris, owner of The Gentleman Hunter in Bethesda, Md. "We
haven't lost any deals yet, but Saturday is our biggest day."
"I suppose some gun buyers are angry over the delay, but our
customers have been very understanding," Harris said.
When the system is working, 72 percent of gun purchases are
approved within 30 seconds, the Justice Department says. And 95
percent of buyers get an approval or a disapproval within two hours
of their application for purchase.
In its first 13 months of operation, the NICS system completed
more than 10 million background checks. Only 5 percent required
more than two hours to complete the background check.
"We had four prospective sales Friday, but we can't deliver the
guns because we can't get approvals," said Tommy Thacker,
manager of Loudoun Guns in Leesburg, Va. "We just tell them
we'll call them when the system is up."
In Virginia, gun dealers like Thacker are linked by computer with
the Virginia state police, but the state police are linked to the FBI
computer to check federal criminal history records. "So the state
can't give approvals," Thacker said.
"No one has gotten angry so far," Thacker said. "But it could get
sticky," because once the sale applications are accepted by the
computer for checking, the backlog could lengthen the time it
takes to complete the checks.
The Brady law gives law enforcement up to three business days to
complete a gun check, but the three-day period does not begin
until the computer accepts the application.
The computer failure threatened to create a backlog and a
weekend of extra work at the FBI Criminal Information Center in
Morgantown, W. Va., Bresson said. Federal officials said extra
workers were being called in to clear any backlog over the
weekend.
Other functions of the FBI's computerized National Crime
Information Center 2000, that serves state and local police as well
as federal agents around the nation, continued in service. The
unaffected computerized services included the FBI's lists of
wanted people, fugitives, stolen guns and stolen property.
AP-ES-05-12-00 1955EDT
© Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Brought to you by the Tampa Bay Online Network