BATF, like ANY government bureaucracy, is ALWAYS seeking ways to EXPAND their authority and power.
By doing so, they can justify increased staff, which justifies upgrading the salary of existing employees who then can move on to supervisory titles.
This is the great danger involved in creating a bureaucracy. It becomes a self-fulfilling entity with a life of its own.
The fact is, the U.S. does NOT need a special police force to just deal with gun crimes, liquor crimes and cigarette crimes.
ATF should be dissolved and those of its staff thought fit to be retained, incorporated into the FBI.
This was one of Reagan’s unaccomplished goals.
My suspicion is his idiot Vice-President was one of the culprits involved in derailing that idea.
If I were President, I would fire each and every ATF special agent on day one (1). They are the bottom of the barrel for federal law enforcement anyways. I would go further that any current and former ATF agent would never be allowed to work for ANY .gov, ever.
I would allow some exemptions such as the explosive division, which, IMHO, is the best in the world on arson and explosives, which would be moved to the FBI. However, if they ever worked with the NFA Branch or anything to do with firearms...buh bye.
All three of them? All from the explosives branch most likely.
Actual enforcement of the alcohol tax and trade laws remained with Treasury when BATFE moved to Justice in 2003, pursuant to the Homeland Security Act.
I never knew this about Reagan. Thanks for sharing! As several posters have said, throw away the ATF, and roll the explosives unit into the FBI. Makes sense to me — too much sense for the government! LOL
The main problem was that the FBI didn't want them. Nor did any other federal "Law Enforcement" agency.
Probably. After all, you used to need a Law degree to get into the FBI (might still need one), and the DEA didn't need any loose cannons on deck, so where were the kitten-stompers going to go? But then Ruby Ridge happened and Waco started under his watch, too. Grandstand get funding show-op turned sour.