ATF’s History
Effective January 24, 2003, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was transferred under the Homeland Security bill to the Department of Justice. The law enforcement functions of ATF under the Department of the Treasury were transferred to the Department of Justice. The tax and trade functions of ATF will remain in the Treasury Department with the new Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
In addition, the agency’s name was changed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to reflect its new mission in the Department of Justice.
From The Archives
A Buried Injustice: Deputy Collector William Henderson Foote, ATF’s Legacy Treasury Agent, Killed in the Line of Duty, December 29, 1883, Yazoo City, Mississippi
April 23, 2012
ATF has recently discovered that during the mid to late 1800s, as many as 40 deputy collectors were killed in the line of duty while serving with the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), one of ATF’s legacy agencies. While most were killed by well-armed moonshiners, one was not. More »
ATF’s Special Response Team (SRT) Tactical Canine Training Program
May 1, 2011
A CBS News Sunday Morning story takes an inside look at ATF’s Special Response Team (SRT) tactical canine training program More »
Arson: The Business of ATF
December 12, 2009
ATF’s early arson jurisdiction is embedded within explosives legislation dictated by two critical Acts: the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Explosive Control Act of 1970. More »
ATF Transfers Historic Alexander Hamilton Letter To National Archives
November 1, 2009
Another small piece of American history was preserved for posterity on September 24 when Acting Director Kenneth Melson transferred, to the National Archives, a 219-year-old letter written by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The document had been in ATF’s possession for more than three decades. More »
National Response Team Responds Overseas
June 1, 2009
It was December 31, 1986, and the Dupont Plaza Hotel and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico, hummed with preparations for that night’s New Year’s Eve gala. The casino was scheduled to close by 6 p.m., much earlier than usual. A higher-than-normal number of visitors placed hurried bets at the tables, anxious to get in enough play time before the casino closed. More »
Izzy Einstein — Prohibition Agent No. 1
May 1, 2009
Among the artifacts in the ATF archives lies a collection of books written by authors who worked for ATF or one of its several predecessor agencies. One such book, Izzy Einstein — Prohibition Agent No. 1, by Isador Einstein, tells the tale of his career as an agent in the Federal Prohibition Unit. More »
The Badges Tell the Story
December 29, 2008
Congress created the Office of Internal Revenue within the Department of the Treasury (1862) specifically to collect taxes, including highly lucrative tariffs on imported distilled spirits and tobacco products. By 1863, because tax evasion and organized crime activities had become so widespread, Congress authorized the hiring of three detectives to investigate and prosecute (alcohol) tax evaders. More »
The Mysterious Disappearance of Ray Sutton
December 29, 2008
On Aug. 27, 1930, Federal Prohibition Agent Ray Sutton filed his routine daily report from his post of duty, Clayton, N.M., to the deputy Prohibition administrator of the Albuquerque, N.M., Office. That would be the last report he ever filed. More »
Remembering Prohibition Agent Killed in the Line of Duty
February 1, 2007
Undoubtedly, life was good for Prohibition Agent Eugene Jackson and his new bride of one month, Lillie. It was July 31, 1932, and the Washington Senators were playing the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. The Senators were ahead by three runs. The Jacksons and their good friend, Narcotics Inspector James Fletcher, dressed in their Sunday finest, were passing the day together waiting to pick up Fletcher’s wife at the railroad station. More »