Public comments requested on the proposed extension and update of BJS data collection: Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Program

The Bureau of Justice Statistics encourages comments for 60 days until May 4, 2020, on the proposed extension and update of a previously approved data collection: Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Program. Your comments on BJS’s request to the Office of Management and Budget, which is published in the Federal Register, should address points such as—

• whether the proposed data collection is necessary, including whether the information will have practical utility
• the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of data, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
• whether and how the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected can be enhanced
• the burden of the information collection on respondents, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques.

BJS’s Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Program collects information on firearm applications and denials and combines this information with the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) transaction data to produce an estimated number of background checks for firearm transfers or permits since the effective date of the Brady Act in 1994. 

Dataset now available: National Crime Victimization Survey, Concatenated File, 1992-2018

The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization. It collects information on—

• nonfatal personal crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and personal larceny (purse-snatching and pick-pocketing))
• household property crimes (burglary/trespassing, motor-vehicle theft, and other types of theft).

The NCVS is administered to persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The survey collects data both on crimes reported and not reported to police.

Access the dataset→

The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating reliable statistics on crime and criminal justice in the United States. Jeffrey H. Anderson is the director.

For more information on BJS publications, data collections, data analysis tools, and funding opportunities, visit BJS online.