AmmoLand News has obtained a leaked copy of the 2019 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Industry Operations Manual.
The manual is the internal guide that the Industry Operations Inspectors (IOI) use when conducting federal firearms licensees (FFL) inspections. An IOI is not a special agent. They are an ATF employee assigned to carry out compliance inspections and audits of records that FFLs hold. While special agents are considered law enforcement and have the power to arrest, the IOIs work on the industry side of the Bureau.
The document is 190 pages long and gives an insight into what the IOIs look for during their FFL compliance inspections. The document lays down what the IOIs can and can’t do during their official visits. It includes when the IOI can run a NICS check on the FFL’s responsible parties. The document also covers when an IOI must refer a case to a criminal investigator. The IOIs cannot perform a criminal investigation.
The document not only goes into procedures used by IOIs during their compliance visits but it also covers the techniques that the IOIs will use during their visits to FFLs. The document also covers more mundane topics such as the ATF’s work from home policy and the use of government vehicles by the IOIs.
One of the interesting things about the IOI position is that IOIs are not allowed to carry firearms while working. This restriction even applies to those who have valid concealed carry permits. The IOIs are not even allowed to keep their guns in their cars.
The document will be an immense help to firearms dealers that are fighting against the revocation of their FFLs. Currently, FFL revocations are up by 500%. Under the current Biden administration, the ATF has targeted FFLs and has been revoking FFLs for the slightest infraction. President Biden calls these gun stores “rogue dealers.” By having a copy of the manual, these targeted FFLs can ensure that the ATF IOIs followed proper procedures during the inspections.
The IO Manual can also help in a criminal defense strategy of a gun dealer accused of criminal activity if the ATF employee improperly used their role as an IOI to collect evidence of illegal activity when they should have filled out a suspicious activity report. The manual makes it abundantly clear that IOIs are not law enforcement officers.
The ATF has stalled multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests trying to get a copy of the Industry Operations Manual, leading many in the gun community to wonder why the ATF would try to prevent the manual from being distributed to the public. Some think that the ATF did not want the IO Manual to fall into the hands of criminal defense lawyers and FFLs.
John Crump
May 25, 2022
ATF Leak Exposes Industry Operations Manual
[Cool! The good guys get a break.—Joe]
If your an FFL, you just have to be very good at logistics and tracking. What I found they would do is try to trip you up.
But field agents ain’t nobodies brain trust, and there’s only so much paperwork you have to do to stay in compliance.
Three of them would come in the shop, set up their computers, then just start grabbing guns. And asking for documentation. Get you rattled, which is half the fun for them, and the main reason for them to be there. Then run you around by the nose for a day or two.
The second time, I just told them in my foreman’s voice that things were going to be done in an orderly manner. Then I explained how we were going section at a time, and dealing with one question at a time. I would bring them the guns and suppressors. And return with a new batch only after all questions were satisfied.
Keeping an extra NFA form3 with the product, (dealer to dealer transferred document.) totally screwed up their fun.
That way when they open a box to inspect a suppressor, the documentation was right there for them to check. Nothing else was needed on my part except to make sure they put everything back in the box. And in the right box.
And the biggest trick to learn is that you always make the appearance of a screw up for them to catch.
I learned this in construction. You always leave something that’s easily fixed for the inspector to find. Give them their little “I got ya” thrill.
Act all rattled for a moment, then go all “I’ll get that fixed right away, sir”. And take the lecture about not being such a screw-up next time.
It’s an unnecessary pain in the ass. But if you understand the game. You can make it very hard for them to trip you up. And no way for them to make a criminal case against you.
If your going to be an FFL. You better understand your enemy. It’s Sun Tzu 101.
And dotting I’s, and crossing T’s, is the game.
“And the biggest trick to learn is that you always make the appearance of a screw up for them to catch.”
Best not to do that anymore, as that appears to be sufficient to lose your FFL license now. No more wiggle room allowed. You are perfect, or screwed, according to reports.
Notice I said the “appearance” of a screw-up? As in finding the corrective paper in the wrong place.
But point well taken. The FFL holder is always on the edge of losing everything at the whim of some moron.
All the more reason that the 2A should never have been subject to the commerce or taxation clauses in the constitution.
The 2A’s position as an amendment should have been sufficient to strike down any authority claimed by congress.
I find it interesting that when the we discover what our government is doing, they refer to it as a “leak”.
Most salient Lyle! Good call!