When will ncic purge stolen gun records after they remain on file?

Answer 1

The NCIC is not supposed to ever purge stolen gun records, and neither are local law enforcement, BUT that's not the reality I've found.

NCIC might keep gun records forever -- or until the case is resolved -- but many local agencies purge their records after a time, usually 10 or 12 years, and without the police report, the NCIC record might not help.

I'm not completely clear on how the process works, but it seems that if a cop catches a bad guy with a gun, and the gun pops up as stolen in the NCIC, his agency must first contact the originating agency before certain actions can be taken against the perp. I think this only refers to charges for posession of stolen property and such, but it's not clear.

More importantly, what information is actually contained in the record in the NCIC is unclear. It is likely that it only contains the make, model, serial number, and the case number and agency that originally filed the report. Even if it contains the name and address of the person the gun was stolen from, if the address is out of date, you're out of luck.

I recall a case a few years ago, where a guy saw an auction notice on a car that had been stolen from him something like 24 years prior. It was listed in the NCIC, but they were unable to locate the rightful owner and had the guy not noticed and recognized the car in the auction notice, he'd never have known.

The victim of theft of a gun, car, or other high'value item, should be sure to maintain a copy of the police report and notify the reporting agency any time they move, and also ask them to update and maintain that record. Even if they don't move, it's probably a good idea to check with the original agency and ask them to update the case file to be sure that it doesn't get purged.