Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BALTIMORE — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) and the U.S Attorney’s Office, have added a billboard in Baltimore at the intersection of Reisterstown Road and Windsor Avenue, reminding citizens that illegal possession of a firearm can land you in prison.

The billboard’s message is an effort to remind the community that law enforcement will continue to aggressively pursue those who use firearms to commit acts of violence, as well as those who illegally possess guns in Baltimore. Furthermore, the billboard provides citizens with ATF’s tip line number 1-888-ATF TIPS (1-888-283-8477), which can be used by the community to report gun crime and criminal possession of firearms.

The ATF Baltimore Field Division’s top priority is to address and investigate violent crime. "Agents assigned to our Violent Crime Impact Teams combat firearms violence by focusing our investigative efforts on armed violent offenders, armed career criminals, illegal gun traffickers and violent criminal gangs," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Frank Riehl. "At the frontline of our effort to combat violent crime is the ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC). The objective of the CGIC is to produce real time and actionable information focusing the efforts of our partners, including police, prosecutors, and forensics experts, on the ‘trigger pullers’ in Baltimore."

CGIC investigators utilize several tools, to include ATF’s National Tracing Center’s e-Trace and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). The goal of the CGIC is to "connect the dots" and provide actionable investigative leads in a real time manner that results in the arrest of suspects before they can commit additional shootings.

ATF is the federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for investigating violent crime, crimes related to firearms trafficking and the illegal possession of firearms. More information on ATF and its programs can be found at www.atf.gov, on Twitter @ATFHQ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HQATF.

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