1140-0053 Justification

Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Supporting Statement

OMB Control Number 1140-0053

Training Registration Request for Non-ATF Employees

ATF F 6400.1

1. Justification

1. ATF currently provides arson, explosives and firearms investigative techniques training to Federal, State and local, Military and International Law Enforcement investigators. The attached form is the Training Registration Request for Non-ATF Employees (ATF F 6400.1). The form is used by prospective students when applying to attend this training. Currently, descriptions of the training are available on the ATF web site. The Office of Human Resources and Professional Development will process the Registration Request.

2. The form is used to obtain information from Federal, State and local, military and international law enforcement investigator personnel making application for training conducted by ATF for the purpose of student registration, program information and program evaluation. The information on the form will be used to determine the eligibility of the applicant to attend the training. The respondent must also supply information with regard to where they work and their responsibilities and duties.

3. The form is available on the ATF web site but cannot be submitted electronically. Currently, ATF does not have the capability to accept electronic submissions. Individuals with disabilities (508 Compliant) can access this form. The respondent must mail or fax the form.

4. The ATF Subject Classification System is used to identify duplication. The form number is issued from this agency wide system. The system also ensures that any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purpose of this information collection.

5. The collection of this information does not impact small businesses or other small entities.

6. The requested information must exist in order to process prospective applicants, plan future training sessions, and verify eligibility of candidates.

7. The training is offered on a continuous basis and candidates may apply at anytime. The requested information will be required on a one-time only basis. There are no other special circumstances associated with this information collection.

8. ATF program staff and course instructors worked jointly to create the form. A 60-day and 30-day Notices were published in the Federal Register in order to solicit comments from the public. No comments were received.

9. No payment or gift is associated with this information collection.

10. The information will be available only to ATF personnel with the Office of Human Resources and Professional Development and the candidate’s sponsoring agency. Confidentiality is not assured.

11. The social security number is asked of the respondent because ATF provides high risk, high liability training to law enforcement personnel within Federal, State, and local governments. The risk and liability associated with the training is not only associated with the training itself, but in the performance of the trained tasks in the workplace. As this training applies to the conduct of regular law enforcement duties or provides a certification in a related expertise, there is an inherent liability to the Bureau to be able to identify and prove which specific individual attended training.  This may be due to a post training incident or in defending a law enforcement officer’s expertise in court. The social security number is a unique identifier for an individual that will follow a student regardless of career with multiple law enforcement agencies. In addition, some of the training facilities used and programs run by the Bureau require partial background checks for clearance purposes.

12. ATF estimates that 500 prospective students will apply per year. The total annual responses will be 500. It is estimated that it takes 6 minutes to complete the form. The total annual burden is estimated at 50 hours.

13. The option of mailing or faxing the form is available to the respondent. ATF reports that 100 percent of the forms have been faxed to ATF. Therefore, ATF reports no cost to the respondent.

14. The annual cost to the Federal Government is approximately $25.00

15. There are no program changes or adjustments associated with this collection. There is no change in burden hour from the previous submission.

16. The results of this information collection will not be published.

17. ATF does not require approval to not display the expiration date of OMB approval for this collection.

18. There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

2. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. The collection of this information employs no statistical methods.

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