ATF is an initialism for alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. The agency’s actual name is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. With its responsibilities in its name, many people may be surprised to learn that the BATFE, more commonly referred to as the ATF, is also the federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over fire investigations. So, how did fires get added to the jurisdiction of the ATF?
The ATF can trace its roots back to the days of Prohibition. Following the ban on alcoholic drinks with the passage of the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, a Prohibition Unit was established under the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In 1927, the unit became the independent Prohibition Bureau and was transferred to the Department of the Treasury. The Prohibition Bureau was later folded under the Department of Justice and absorbed by the Bureau of Investigation, the former name of the FBI, in 1933 and became the Alcohol Beverage Unit. Following the repeal of Prohibition, the ABU was transferred back to Treasury, where it was renamed the Alcohol Tax Unit.
In 1968, the Gun Control Act expanded the ATU’s jurisdiction to include firearms, transforming the agency into the ATF. The GCA also gave the ATF jurisdiction over destructive devices and arson as a whole. Two years later, the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, also known as the Explosive Control Act, further solidified the ATF’s arson and explosives jurisdiction; the ECA established penalties for the misuse of explosives and outlined regulations for the manufacture, importation, sale and storage of explosives.
Using an expanded interpretation of the ECA, the ATF determined that the mixing of a flammable liquid with an oxidizing agent fell under the definition of an explosive under the ECA. With this interpretation of the law, the ATF investigated three men for arson who were prosecuted and ultimately convicted in a U.S. District Court in Savannah, Georgia. This case established a precedent for the ATF to investigate more arson cases under the ECA.
In 1977, the ATF formed the first federal arson task force in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The task force consisted of ATF agents, FBI agents, Postal Inspectors, and Philadelphia police and fire investigators. This inter-agency model was replicated in 10 other cities experiencing an uptick in arson. By November 1977, the ATF expanded the arson task force to all 23 DOJ strike force cities. The following year, with arson cases continuing to grow across the country, the ATF established two National Response Teams.
Made up of 10 Certified Fire Investigators, supported by technicians, forensic scientists and auditors, a response team can quickly respond to a major arson or bombing anywhere in the United States. CFIs are federal agents who undergo a two-year training program on advanced fire scene examination and the principles of fire dynamics. With their expertise, the CFIs provide relief to local ATF agents during arson and bombing investigations.
The National Response Team’s first case was a major fire in Shelby, North Carolina on May 25, 1979. A downtown block of buildings was destroyed, killing five people and injuring 31 more. Working alongside state and local agencies, the NRT arrested two men on felony murder charges and validated the team’s concept. The next year, the ATF identified arson for profit as one of the fastest-growing crimes in America. In addition to the NRTs, the ATF established training programs with state, local, and other federal law enforcement agencies to detect and investigate these arsons.
In 1982, Congress passed the Anti-Arson Act to amend the explosives laws. The Act specifically criminalized the use of fire to commit any federal felony and made it unlawful to damage or destroy, by fire, any property used in activities affecting interstate commerce. In 1996, the Church Arson Prevention Act gave federal prosecutors more power to prosecute criminal fires at places of worship. The ATF was ultimately transferred from Treasury to the DOJ in 2003 and continues to investigate arson under federal law.