 Robert Cekada has devoted his career to public service and frontline law enforcement, serving communities at the local and federal levels for more than three decades. He was sworn in as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on April 30, 2026. He leads the men and women of ATF in enforcing laws related to firearms, explosives, arson, and alcohol and tobacco trafficking. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Cekada served as the Deputy Director since April 2025.
Kristen E. de Tineo was appointed the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in May 2026, where she serves as the agency’s second highest-ranking official.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. de Tineo served as the Assistant Director, Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations and Chief Security Officer for ATF. In this role, she oversaw nationwide complex internal affairs and use-of-force investigations and served as the liaison with senior officials from the Office of the Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
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ATF launched a new era of reform in 2025, focused on a commitment to transparency, accountability, and partnership with the firearms industry, gun owners and the public. The most recently proposed regulatory reforms aim to reduce the burden on law-abiding individuals and businesses by modernizing the firearms application process and clarifying longstanding regulatory confusion regarding Special Occupational Tax exemptions.
Read ATF’s newest proposals:
Learn more about ATF’s New Era of Reform.
ATF’s data for fiscal year 2025 is now available and covers topics such as:
- Case and defendant data in the various phases of the judicial process
- Number of federal firearms licensees and licenses issued
- Number of firearm compliance inspections and most frequently cited violations
- Number of federal explosives licenses and permits issued
- Number of explosives application inspections and most frequently cited violations
- Number of firearm tracing requests processed
- Ballistic imaging data that links violent crimes involving firearms and subsequently identifies firearm users
- ATF laboratory accomplishments
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The following ATF fact sheets have been updated with data from fiscal year 2025:
 ATF, in partnership with Wichita State University and its Midwest Criminal Justice Institute, launched a new ATF Forensic Crime Gun Intelligence Laboratory on Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus.
The laboratory expands ATF’s national forensic capacity by increasing access to specialized, high-throughput services focused on firearms-related evidence, enabling the efficient processing of crime gun evidence at scale. This newest facility expects to be fully operational in the coming years.
A key component of ATF's enforcement mission is the tracing of firearms on behalf of thousands of local, state, federal, tribal and international law enforcement agencies. Firearms trace data is critically important information developed by ATF, and the following reports provide the public with insight into firearms recoveries.
View ATF’s latest trace data reports.
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