While routine system audits may not be adversely affected by DOJ’s proposed requirement for next-day destruction of records, other current uses of NICS records would be affected, with consequences for public safety and NICS operations. The FBI is considering certain actions to mitigate these effects but these actions would not cover all consequences. The FBI has drafted plans that would address most potential effects of the proposed policy for next-day destruction of records. In developing these plans, the FBI reviewed each area of NICS operations and identified the changes needed in computer systems, work processes, policies, and procedures.8 According to NICS officials, under the FBI’s plans, most areas of NICS operations would not be adversely affected. The FBI’s plans also show that many routine audits currently conducted monthly or quarterly—such as audits of the accuracy of NICS examiners’ decisions—would have to be conducted on a real-time (hourly or daily) basis by adding more staff and changing procedures. NICS officials told us, however, that the FBI would not lose any routine audit capabilities under the proposed policy for next-day destruction of records.

On the other hand, a next-day destruction policy would adversely affect certain nonroutine audits of the system. Specifically, under current DOJ policy, if a law enforcement agency has information that indicates that an individual is prohibited from purchasing firearms under federal law, the agency may request that the FBI check whether the name appears in NICS records of allowed transfers. If the FBI finds a record showing an allowed transfer to a "prohibited person" (e.g., a transfer to an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States), that record indicates a potential violation of law, and the FBI may disclose the record to the appropriate law enforcement entity. These audits of the accuracy of responses given by NICS, and the additional (secondary) benefit of assisting law enforcement investigations, generally would not be possible under a nextday destruction policy.

Finally, ATF headquarters officials told us that a next-day destruction policy would not affect ATF’s ability to inspect gun dealer records. However, our work indicates that the effect of such a policy on ATF inspections is unclear. For example, under the proposed next-day destruction policy, NICS records of allowed firearms transfers would no longer be available for a detailed comparison with dealer records of the purportedly same transactions. Officials at the five ATF field offices we contacted provided mixed views on the value of current comparisons of NICS records with gun dealer records. If the proposed next-day destruction policy is implemented, ATF plans to replace the detailed comparisons with a "recheck" procedure, under which ATF inspectors would request that the FBI rerun selected NICS checks based on information taken from gun dealer records.