The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ and Federal
Bureau of Investigation’s Arson and Explosives Intelligence Databases

Audit Report 05-01
October 2004
Office of the Inspector General

Database Details ATF National Repository FBI Bomb Data Center AEXIS BATS AIRS Accessibility Authorized National Repository staff Access limited to one person within each ATF field division office Read-only rights via a web-based querying feature to authorized state and local law enforcement agencies A valid network username and password are required Required software application provided by the Repository Internet connection under mandatory connection provisions Qualified law enforcement agencies must meet certain requirements and comply with specific conditions A valid network username and password are required Online via a secure network, accessible through a virtual private network Different level of access to members of the BDC/SIG, which is obtainable when certain criteria are met LEO members who meet certain requirements A valid network username and password are required Data Collection Electronically transferred from N-Force through an acceptance or cancel option made available to the end user. Hardcopy via mail, fax, email, reports of investigations, photographs, and phone calls. Electronically from members that have access to BATS. Hardcopy reports from an investigator's notes taken during an investigation or from reports from an agency's case management system. Electronically into AIRS by members of the LEO and BDC/SIG Hardcopy via mail or fax, on required incident and activity report forms Activity reports submissions are restricted to Special Agent Bombing Technicians and bomb squad members24 User Interface25 Patterned after Windows Explorer with file structured for data storage Customized toolbars Navigational buttons for moving from one section to another Data validation per work sections Wizard guide Incident search options Different field types for letters and special characters Drop down/pop-up boxes for selecting data Drag and drop functions for merging records Duplicate record reconciliation screens Computer generated incident number Hot key commands entered from the keyboard Record sorting options Editing features Theft/loss reporting Tracing of explosives Automated data loading via web interface from federal reporting agencies Imaging Web-based querying and reporting Printable reports Web-based browser for productive use by the users Maintenance screens to create and update records Search options by incident, subject, or device Import/export information to other users Computer generated record number Restriction/unrestricted options for data sharing Geographic information system Edit features Printable reports Web-style controls for productive use by the end users Different work modes and section identifiers Navigational buttons for moving from one section to another Validation indicators per work section User's guide link for referencing Search features Required field denotations Drop down boxes Duplicate entry detection Computer generated report numbers Categorization of reports in "draft" or "final" status Printable reports Data Field Categories26 Incident information Suspects Investigation participation Evidence components Incident Investigator information Incident details Devices Subjects/business information Nature of Incident Nature of Activity Reporting Agency Data Incident Data Device Data Types of outputs Automated statistical summary reports Standard reports per record numbers Tracing reports Reports from data extractions from AEXIS, NFIRS, and the UCR Incident reports per record entry Audit reports for managerial review Management reports for the assessment an agency's performance Multiple outputs in PDF, HTML, or Excel format for various scenarios by the end users or BDC staff Sharing capabilities Authorized members of the Repository staff ATF field divisions Information provided upon request to the law enforcement community by mail, fax, or telephone by AEXIS staff Authorized members of the law enforcement community with read-only rights provided by ATF staff Law enforcement agencies that have access to BATS under restricted or unrestricted options Authorized members of BDC/SIG and LEO Information provided upon request to the law enforcement community by mail, fax, or telephone by BDC staff Source: This analysis is based on information obtained from the FBI's Bomb Data Center and the ATF's National Repository. Footnotes These reports contain data on activities on training exercises that are specific to this segment of the law enforcement community. The purpose of this section of the analysis is to display the features available to an end user in interacting with the system to obtain arson and explosive intelligence information. The user interface for the AEXIS system should be viewed from the standpoint of the end user being the Repository staff interacting with the system to obtain arson and explosive intelligence information upon request to a given law enforcement agency. The available data fields within each of the respective categories are listed in detail in Appendix V.