According to a Department of Justice press release dated July 22, 2021, the DOJ has launched five cross-jurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces to address violent crime and crack down on sources of crime guns.

On April 8, 2021, President Joe Biden announced six executive actions in an effort to curb gun violence. President Biden highlighted the urgency of this issue in a speech saying, “Today we're taking steps to confront not just the gun crisis but what is actually a public health crisis."

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report covering firearms smuggling from the U.S. into Mexico and issuing recommendations to better understand the problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the Department of Justice’s law enforcement investigations, according to a recently released employee survey of major DOJ components by the department’s Office of the Inspector General.

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) introduced the Improvement and Modernization Act (AIM) that would modernize the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to improve gun safety. The bill itself would remove statutory restrictions that prevent ATF from protecting the public from violent criminals and combating black market weapons smuggling, according to its authors.

Learn about what it takes to be a female in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Waytes talks about finding a mentor and inspiring her students at the ATF National Academy.

On July 8, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a law enforcement initiative that combines efforts of local and federal law enforcement to combat surges of violence across America. It began in Kansas City, MO and has now expanded to several other states that have seen a recent increase of violence.

In 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held the MSPB acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it dismissed an ATF employee’s Individual Right of Action appeal. The Seventh Circuit’s 2018 opinion found that the employee “properly alleged a ‘protected disclosure’ and exhausted his administrative remedies so that the Board had jurisdiction to evaluate the merits of his claim.” The MSPB AJ denied relief, and the employee appealed to the Seventh Circuit again. On July 16, 2020, the appeals court again held that the MSPB acted arbitrarily, capriciously, and contrary to law. This time, the remand to the MSPB was only on the extent of relief to the employee.