Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Along with the increase in applications for concealed weapons permits, the Pennsylvania State Police also saw a large increase of background checks running through its Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) Unit.
The PICS Unit is run by the Firearms Division of the Pennsylvania State Police and is used by firearms dealers to verify an applicant’s eligibility to legally purchase a firearm in a few minutes’ time. PICS was implemented on July 1, 1998, as a replacement to the former, mandatory five-day waiting period, according to state police. The “instant check” is a call center that conducts the background check requests, and handles most firearms purchases. Checks are not instant for purchase of Title II weapons, which are regulated by the National Firearms Act and include machine guns, short-barreled shotguns, silencers and destructive devices, such as mines and grenade launchers.
According to state police PIO Trooper Robert Hicks, the PICS Unit received more than 89,000 calls in the first three weeks of December. Those calls include calls for gun purchase transfers or license to carry calls, as well as some general inquiries.
After the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn., however, Hicks noted that the number of calls increased significantly compared to the same day one week earlier.
On Dec. 19, the number of calls reached 8,041, which approached the all-time record of 9,003 calls set on Nov. 23, 2012 (Black Friday). For the total month of December, the PICS Unit received 142,812 calls, of which 105,686 were to transfer or purchase a gun.
Hicks said December is usually a big month for these types of calls and purchases, because gun sales “typically increase around the holiday season, with the start of hunting season and people buying firearms as Christmas gifts.”
The system
Though the call center is designed to give an “instant” check, which may usually take around 5 to 6 minutes to complete, the PICS background check process is currently designed to access both state and federal databases to determine a person’s eligibility to purchase a firearm or license to carry a firearm.
According to state police, each PICS background check searches Pennsylvania criminal history records, juvenile records, mental health files, Pennsylvania protection from abuse files and state wanted/missing persons files. PICS also conducts a check of federal databases, including Interstate Identification Index (which contains criminal history records submitted by states throughout the county, federal and military records), National Crime Information Center (which includes information on civil protection orders and arrest warrants), and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which includes illegal/unlawful alien records, renounced citizenship, involuntary commitments, dishonorable discharges from the U.S. armed services, unlawful users of controlled substances and a denied persons file containing federally disqualifying records.
Those state searches cover more than 2.5 million Pennsylvania criminal history and juvenile records, more than 600,000 state mental health records, more than 100,000 state wanted persons files, more than 61 million criminal history records nationwide and 12.3 million records on other prohibited persons in the country, according to state police.
Applicants who instantly clear the initial database search are approved within minutes. However, PICS allows up to 15 days to conduct further research to determine prohibited status for those with a matching record during the initial background check process, according to state police.
Police say about 60 percent of people who attempt to purchase a firearm are approved within minutes.
PICS can deny requests through the call center, and according to state police’s 2011 annual report, 11,088 denials were issued by operators in 2011. Of those, 4,134 challenges to those denials were received, 2,362 final denials were issued and 1,488 denials were reversed.
The 2011 annual report said PICS received a record high 739,682 background checks that year — a 14 percent increase from 2010 and an 11 percent increase over the previous high year, which occurred in 2009.
State police collect a $2 fee from firearm dealers for each background check processed and collect a $3 fee for the sale or transfer of each taxable firearm. Police say the fees augment the general Pennsylvania State Police budget and covers about 40 percent of the cost to operate and maintain PICS.