T G D A  N E W S L E T T E R

NCIS getting faster

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) is getting faster, according to a new Justice Department report.

Instant approval, as defined by the FBI as completions that occur within a few hours, happened in 91 percent of purchases, compared to 71 percent in early 2001. Attorney Gen John Ashcroft said most purchases are approved within minutes.

The improvements are due to a reduction in the number of false matches - largely due to the addition of 258 NICS staffers to resolve false matches and to the increasing voluntary use of social security numbers by the purchaser. Another factor is the reduced number of attempted dealer purchases by previously delayed persons with old criminal or other potentially disqualifying records which have to be manually inspected, resulting in long delays.

For the last four years, members of the TGDA Board of Directors have been working closely with FBI officials to improve the system.