Without a Trace

And these are just the classification letters...

Poor overworked ATF.  Aren't the risks of registration worth it if it can solve one crime?  [More]

Speaking of that, out of the "more than 340,000 tracing requests every year to help law enforcement solve crimes," how many crimes have been solved that would otherwise not have been had ATF not identified a name gleaned from a retailer's 4473 copy? Factoring in the costs of these operations, how much does that work out to per solved crime?

Anybody know? House Oversight? Bueller?

And while it's interesting to see "how the ATF traces guns in America," I'm actually more interested in seeing them be just as forthcoming explaining how the hell they expect us to believe they were trying to trace guns in Mexico.

[Via Robert E]