|
Georgia Crime Information Center
1998 ANNUAL REPORT INSTANT BACKGROUND CHECK
Firearms Transactions Conducted
Listed below are links to the statistics for the Firearms
Program for 1998, reflecting the overall number of calls received,
the frequency and time of the calls, and number of firearms
transactions including the number of approvals and denials.
1998 Total Firearms Transactions
Total Telephone calls vs. Total Firearms
Transactions, By Month
Total Firearms Transactions
Reasons For Denial By Month
The Georgia Firearms Program received 95,341 telephone calls
from federally-licensed firearms dealers throughout the State
of Georgia during 1998. The Firearms Program processed 109,476
firearms instant background checks as a result of the telephone
calls received and the electronic inquiries via VeriFAX terminals.
VeriFAX, LLC, of Nashville, Tennessee provides an on-line
instant background check for the large volume firearms dealers
by use of a point of sale (POC) terminal installed at the
firearms dealers place of business. This POC terminal allows
the firearms dealer to enter and receive the same information
he would receive from a Firearms Program Call Center Operator,
without having to call the operator. This saves the firearms
dealer and the Firearms Program both time and expense. This
service is at no additional cost to the firearms dealer. VeriFAX
processed 32,280 or 29% of the transactions through its system
during 1998. This number is expected to increase during 1999
as more terminals are installed. VeriFAX was paid a total
of $91,650.50 or approximately $2.84 per transaction processed.
This saves the Firearms Program over $5 per transaction.
The instant background checks resulted in 101,036 or 92%
of the checks being approved for the sale of a firearm. A
total of 8,433 or 8% of the checks resulted in a denial of
the sale. Of the total approvals, 73,164 or 72% were approved
instantly, the remainder required research to determine if
any of the databases contained information that would prohibit
the firearms sale.
The following is a synopsis of the Firearms Program activity
for 1998:
Total Calls Answered.................95,341
Total Transactions....................109,469
Total Transactions Approved...101,036
Total Transactions Denied............8,433
Reason for denial:
Felony Conviction.........................................1,963
Open Felony Arrest(No Final Disposition)...5,836
Outstanding Felony Warrant.............................111
Mental Health Reasons.........................................2
Family Violence Related..................................521
The Firearms Program collected a total of $407,470 in instant
background check fees from firearms dealers during 1998. Firearms
dealers are billed monthly at the rate of $5 for each instant
background check performed. The firearms dealer charges this
fee to the prospective purchaser.
The Firearms Program has not received any court orders to
amend either criminal history or involuntary hospitalization
records resulting from a person being denied a firearm. The
Firearms Program staff works with those persons who have been
denied by researching the information that resulted in the
denial. Every attempt possible is made to obtain any missing
record information and to update the affected record.
Listed below are links to the statistics for the Firearms
Program for 1998, reflecting the overall number of calls received,
the frequency and time of the calls and number of firearms
transactions including the number of approvals and denials.
|
