NH Slaps Down Cops Using NICS

[mrjarrell]

Apparently the police in New Hampshire have been using the NICS to do background checks on citizens from whom they confiscate firearms. The judge has informed them that this procedure is a no-no. Good for him. Make you wonder how many other departments around the country are misusing the NICS in the same way?

From The Union Leader

The New Hampshire Department of Safety has ordered law enforcement agencies to end the practice of running background checks before returning confiscated firearms to their owners.
In a memo sent on Sept. 28, New Hampshire Department of Safety Assistant Commissioner Earl Sweeney reminded law enforcement officials throughout the state that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, known as NICS, can be used only by federally licensed gun manufacturers, importers and dealers. If the NICS is being used by police or court officers to run background checks before returning confiscated guns, Sweeney wrote, they should stop.
"Conducting NICS checks prior to returning confiscated firearms technically constitutes misuse of NICS and exceeds the authority granted to the Department of Safety by the New Hampshire Legislature," he wrote.
The order is in response to a complaint filed with the New Hampshire Department of Safety by Concord attorney Evan F. Nappen.
Nappen, who specializes in New Hampshire weapons law, contacted the state in April after the Manchester Police Department ran an NICS check on one of his clients. Nappen said he discovered soon after that background checks were also being run at some of New Hampshire's superior courts.
He warned the state that under the Code of Federal Rules enforced by the U.S. Justice Department, these actions could result in a $10,000 fine for each violation and the state could potentially lose access to the use NICS system.
Nappen said he was happy with Sweeney's response. Ending these checks means gun owners are no longer subjected to improper checks and, at the same time, eases the case load of the state's NICS system, he said.
"To the credit of Earl Sweeney, he read, responded and took action on what I had to say. I've got to give him a lot of credit," said Nappen.

 

[Indecision]

It's good (and rare) to be hearing things like that working out in our favor.

 

[El Cazador]

Nappen, who specializes in New Hampshire weapons law, contacted the state in April after the Manchester Police Department ran an NICS check on one of his clients. Nappen said he discovered soon after that background checks were also being run at some of New Hampshire's superior courts.

I wonder how Nappen figured out the NICS background checks were being run? I wouldn't have thought the police dept. would have blithely told them that they had done so. That info always seemed to be "need to know" from the little exposure to it I've had.

It would be nice if background checks were like credit bureau report requests, and people could see who were requesting them.

 

[Agent 007]

.

 

[theweakerbrother]

I had a State smokey run a NICS check on my carry piece while in Greensburg. He was kind of a jerk but I got no ticket for my alleged speeding of five over.

IIRC, someone else had this happen to them and they reported it to a governor or other higher up in the state dept.

 

[sporter]

Good decision.

 

[bm9mm]

It is refreshing to here a correct decision coming from the bench these days.

 

[Michiana]

background checks are not kept

To clarify any misconception that there is old information available in the computer at NICS when a background check is performed on individuals, that is not the case. For people who purchase or transfer weapons through FFL’s that request is purged after 24 hours unless they have a request on file to save them. This is something a person can ask for through filling out a request form if they constantly get delayed when purchasing weapons. According to the FBI agents I spoke to at the last SHOT show normal background checks do not stay in the FBI computers more than that 24 hour period.

All these police agencies can find out doing a check is if that individual is eligible to have a gun transferred to them at that specific time which is what they are doing before returning a confiscated weapon back to the rightful owner.