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SUMMARY
The Office of the Auditor General
has conducted a performance audit of the Department of Public Safety’s
Licensing Bureau as a part of a Sunset review of the agency. This audit was
conducted pursuant to a June 16, 1999, resolution of the Joint Legislative
Audit Committee and was conducted under the authority vested in the Auditor
General by Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) §41-2951 et seq. This is the
fifth in a series of eight audits of the Department of Public Safety.
The Department of Public Safety’s
(DPS) Licensing Bureau is part of the Criminal Justice Support Division,
which provides regulatory, support, and other services essential to
promoting public safety in Arizona. This audit focuses on three of the
Bureau’s four programs: the
Firearms Clearance Center, which determines an individual’s eligibility to
purchase a firearm; the Security Guard and Private Investigator Licensing
Unit, which regulates security guard and private investigator agencies and
employees; and the Concealed Weapon Permit program, which issues permits to
individuals qualified to carry concealed weapons in Arizona. The fourth
unit, Access Integrity, will be included in the audit of DPS’ Criminal
Information Services Bureau.
Arizona Could Save $650,000 Annually by
Allowing FBI to Conduct Background Checks
(See pages 7 through 13)
The Legislature has the option of allowing the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to perform the federally mandated
firearm background check function. The federal Brady Handgun Violence
Prevention Act of 1994 requires that handgun, long gun, and pawned gun
purchasers undergo a background check to determine whether they are legally
allowed to buy a firearm. States initially had to conduct these checks for
the federal government, but in November 1998, were given the option of
transferring this responsibility to the FBI. Currently, the FBI conducts all
background checks for 24 states and
some of the background checks for 11 other states. Arizona is 1 of only 15
states that have chosen to retain the responsibility for conducting all
background checks.
The Legislature should consider transferring the background check
function to the FBI. Having DPS conduct the checks provides few significant
benefits beyond what the FBI can offer and will cost the State about
$650,000 in fiscal year 2001. Auditors determined the FBI could provide
effective background checks in part by analyzing a random sample of
purchases denied by DPS.[1] In over 95 percent of
these cases, the FBI would have had the information needed to deny a
purchase. In most of the remaining cases the denied individuals had active
misdemeanor warrants, and federal databases generally contain information on
only felony warrants. While having an active warrant disqualifies an
individual from purchasing a gun, the misdemeanor warrants in these cases
were for non-disqualifying offenses such as failure to appear, or writing
bad checks. In addition, the FBI more effectively completes background
checks on cases needing additional research, a problem area for DPS’
program (see Finding II, pages 15 through 22). The FBI also offers more
expanded hours than Arizona, so transferring the background check function
should not inconvenience Arizona’s firearms dealers or gun buyers.
If the Legislature decides that DPS
should retain the background check function, it should consider providing
DPS with the statutory authority to charge fees to cover its operating
costs. Currently, DPS primarily uses Criminal Justice Enhancement Fund
appropriations to pay for the program’s operating costs. However, most
other states performing background checks charge a fee to the licensed
firearm dealer for each check, which typically ranges from $5 to $15.
DPS Should Take Steps to Ensure That
Only Eligible Individuals Can Buy Guns
(See pages 15 through 22)
If the Legislature decides that DPS
should continue the background check function, DPS should take several steps
to ensure that guns are sold only to eligible persons. Although most
background checks can be completed in minutes, some require additional
research. For example, an individual’s criminal history record may list an
arrest for a disqualifying offense such as burglary, but the record does not
indicate whether the person was convicted. Therefore, to determine the
individual’s eligibility to purchase a firearm, DPS must contact a state or
local criminal justice entity, such as a court, to obtain additional
information.
In accordance with federal law, states are allowed
a minimum of three business days to conduct this research and DPS abides by
this standard. Therefore, dealers may sell the firearm after three business
days if DPS has not advised them that the individual is ineligible to purchase
a firearm. During calendar year 2000, DPS was unable to complete background
checks within the three-day time frame for about 5,000 people, or 50 percent
of the cases requiring research. In these cases the dealer could legally sell
the weapon to the individual. However, it is unclear how many of these
individuals should have been prohibited from buying guns. A review of nearly
200 such cases in which DPS did not complete the background check for October
2000 found that more than one-third of the individuals had arrests and/or
charges on their records for serious, disqualifying offenses, such as
misconduct with weapons, sexual assault, child abuse, and conspiracy to commit
murder.
Consistent with the intent of the
law and practices in other states that conduct their own background checks,
DPS needs to make several operational changes to ensure that ineligible
individuals are not allowed to buy guns. For example, DPS should follow the
practices of the FBI and other states by reassigning some of its existing
staff to perform research as their primary function. In addition, DPS should
also seek legislative authority that would allow it to extend the sale of a
firearm from 3 to 30 days. Other states such as California, Georgia, and
Tennessee have extended their research time frames and will not authorize the
purchase of a gun until the state confirms the buyer is eligible.
DPS Could Streamline Its Security Guard
and Private Investigator Application Process
(See pages 23 through 26)
By modifying its security guard and
private investigator employee application practices, DPS could postpone its
request for additional staff and improve its oversight role. DPS staff
currently spend 15 to 20 minutes with each applicant reviewing their
application form with them. In addition, the application review process is
also inconvenient for applicants since DPS has only two licensing locations,
Phoenix and Tucson, for the entire state.
DPS should revise its
administrative rules and practices to allow security guards and private
investigators to submit applications by mail. Specifically, applicants and the
agencies they work for could be responsible for obtaining a fingerprint card,
and two passport-sized photos, and ensuring that the application is complete
and contains sufficient information to show the applicant meets the minimum
qualifications. Once the application packet was received, DPS would then
determine if all the required information had been submitted and send the
information to the DPS unit conducting the criminal history background check
on the applicant. Auditors estimate that allowing security guards and private
investigators to submit applications by mail could reduce DPS’ application
review processing time at least in half, or to ten minutes or less. This
change could potentially postpone or eliminate the need for additional staff
and allow current staff to dedicate more time to other regulatory functions,
such as conducting site compliance checks and investigating complaints.
DPS Could Improve Its Security
Guard Regulation Practices
(See pages 27 through 32)
DPS could improve its regulation of
security guards by making a few changes. To receive a security guard
certificate, applicants must meet statutory requirements, and be sponsored by
a DPS-licensed security guard agency. Although security guards are not granted
any law enforcement powers beyond those of an average citizen, it is the
philosophy of DPS, as well as national security and law enforcement
organizations, that security guards are in positions of trust and that
untrained, unlicensed people are a potential threat to public safety. However,
many of the current licensing processes are not consistent with that
philosophy. For example, DPS issues a temporary permit, known as a provisional
certificate, that allows applicants to work for up to six months before they
receive training, or their criminal history background checks are complete. In
addition, DPS does not conduct any further background checks during the
three-year period that the security guard is certified.
DPS should take the necessary steps
to enhance its regulation of security guards. Practices used by other states
and recommended by national security associations, such as the National
Association of Security and Investigative Regulators, are stricter than
Arizona’s. Consistent with other states and national associations, DPS
should:
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Establish the type and amount of
training required;
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Require applicants
to receive training prior to receiving their provisional certificate;
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Require continuing education during
the certificate period;
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Conduct state criminal history
background checks before issuing a provisional certificate; and
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Conduct additional background
checks annually, during the certificate period.
Some of
these changes will require statutory revisions.
Other Pertinent Information
(See pages 33 through 36)
During the audit, other pertinent information was
gathered regarding DPS’ Concealed Weapon Permit program, which began in
fiscal year 1995. DPS issues permits to qualified individuals, approves the
training organizations and instructors who provide mandatory concealed weapon
permit training, and conducts investigations or audits of permit holders,
instructors, and training organizations to ensure compliance with state
concealed weapon laws and rules. During the program’s first year, DPS issued
over 27,500 permits. Further, as of the end of November 2000, 61,000
individuals had Arizona concealed weapon permits.
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