Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), sometimes referred to as BATFE, is a domestic <a href="/facts/Law_enforcement_agency/LBQN5bl8">law enforcement agency</a> within the <a href="/facts/United_States_Department_of_Justice/2SuTuevo">United States Department of Justice</a>. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of <a href="/facts/Firearm/GuHx4aGE">firearms</a> and <a href="/facts/Explosive/sUme5Pp8">explosives</a>; acts of <a href="/facts/Arson/tzNIWYgd">arson</a> and <a href="/facts/Bomb/GoH38wo1">bombings</a>; and illegal trafficking and <a href="/facts/Tax_evasion/4DSQPEhX">tax evasion</a> of <a href="/facts/Alcohol_(drug)/IeK2fVd5">alcohol</a> and <a href="/facts/Tobacco/bTD4RUPQ">tobacco</a> products. 
ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in <a href="/facts/Interstate_commerce/rj5hgIdw">interstate commerce</a>. Many of ATF's activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as <a href="/facts/Project_Safe_Neighborhoods/5JxoHUCm">Project Safe Neighborhoods</a>. 
ATF operates a unique <a href="/facts/ATF_Fire_Research_Laboratory/zUD935Sn">fire research laboratory</a> in <a href="/facts/Beltsville,_Maryland/zRLJhQV8">Beltsville, Maryland</a>, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed. ATF had 5,285 employees and an annual budget of almost $1.5 billion in 2021. ATF has received criticism over its handling of the investigation leading up to the <a href="/facts/Ruby_Ridge_standoff/0DGGmFTW">Ruby Ridge standoff</a> and the <a href="/facts/Waco_siege/ClfKYN5G">Waco siege</a>

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives open-in-new

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives