The following terms and acronyms are commonly used in law enforcement and undercover work.
TERMS OF THE TRADE
Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC): Slang: ASACK. The second-highest-ranking official in an ATF field division. Some of the larger field divisions have two ASACs.
Briefing: Prior to any undercover operation, all involved law enforcement personnel gather to receive a comprehensive overview of the case and the planned operation. Briefing content includes times, dates, pictures of undercover agents and violators, contingency plans, individual and team assignments, and weaponry.
Bust Signal: A predetermined verbal or visual signal used by an undercover agent to communicate distress or trouble or to initiate an arrest.
Buy Bust: An undercover operation intended to culminate in the immediate arrest of the violator(s).
Buy Walk: An undercover operation intended to purchase contraband and then let the violator(s) leave. This tactic is used to continue buying contraband or to allow the agent(s) to perfect the case before arrests are made.
Confidential Informant: Slang: CI, informant, snitch, rat. A person willing to provide information on a criminal friend or associate or a group of such. CIs sometimes make undercover purchases and wear wires. CIs may make introductions to violators and vouch for undercover agents. CIs sometimes work for money. Some try to “work off” existing charges. Others are just concerned citizens or wannabe cops.
Debriefing: After every operation, the same parties originally briefed will reconvene to identify what worked well and what didn’t work so well. Reporting and evidence assignments as well as corrections to future operations often occur during debriefings.
Field Division: Formerly called “districts,” a divisional section of ATF organized geographically. At the time of this writing, ATF had twenty-six field divisions. Depending on size and population, a field division might encompass one state (such as the Atlanta Field Division, which oversees Georgia), part of a state (Florida is split between the Miami and Tampa Field Divisions), or multiple states (the San Francisco Field Division oversees Northern California and Nevada).
Field Office or Group: The specific squad or unit responsible for a designated area within a field division.
Group Supervisor: Slang: Group Supe. The first-line supervisor for squads located in the same city as the field division. The Group Supervisor designation is used to avoid confusion; a Group Supervisor is the equivalent of a Resident Agent in Charge. For example, first-line supervisors in the city of Atlanta are called Group Supervisors; in Macon and Savannah they carry the title Resident Agent in Charge.
Headquarters: Slang: HQ, Puzzle Palace. Refers to ATF headquarters located at 99 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20226.
Operator: Often used interchangeably with “agent.” SWAT and SRT team members refer to themselves as operators. Undercover agents are also referred to as operators.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF): A multiagency task force originally formed by then Vice President George H. W. Bush to besiege the cocaine cowboys primarily in South Florida. These task forces were later expanded to large cities.
Panic Button: Slang: “Oh, shit” button. A small battery-operated pressure switch that when depressed sends out a unique squelching sound over police radios to signal distress.
Props: Items used to enhance an undercover appearance. Anything can be used as a prop to give a violator a reason to believe an agent is a bad guy. Something as simple as a set of drug scales on a kitchen table can be a prop. The term can also refer to guns ATF uses to show violators. There are other, more elaborate props that intentionally are not discussed in this book.
Resident Agent in Charge (RAC): Slang: Rack. First-line supervisor serving outside an ATF field division’s primary city.
Special Agent in Charge (SAC): Slang: SACK. The top boss in each ATF field division.
Street Theater: A planned or choreographed set of events to convince violators that the undercover agent is a legitimate bad guy.
Undercover: Slang: UC, operator, RatSnake. An undercover agent. The term also refers to an undercover operation.
Wire: A transmitter usually worn secretly on the person or placed at a particular location. For the purposes of this book, the term specifically refers to the Kel kit.
COMMONLY USED ACRONYMS
AO: Area of Operation
ASAC: Assistant Special Agent in Charge. See above.
ATF (also BATFE): Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ATFAR: ATF Association of Retirees
ATTU: Alcohol Tobacco Tax Unit of the IRS
CI: Confidential Informant. See above.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
DEA: Drug Enforcement Administration
EOD: Explosive Ordinance Disposal
ETB: Explosive Technology Branch of the ATF
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
FFL: Federal Firearms Licensee
FINCIN: Financial Crimes Network
FLETC: Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
FMTT: Fuck Me to Tears*
FNG: Fucking New Guy†
FTS: Federal Telecommunications System
IA: Internal Affairs
IED: Improvised Explosive Device
ILEA: International Law Enforcement Academy
IRS: Internal Revenue Service
NCIC: National Crime Information Center of the FBI
OCDETF: Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. See above.
OIG: Office of Inspector General
OMO: Outlaw Motorcycle Organization
OPSEC: Operational Security
PC: Probable Cause
PD: Police Department
RAC: Resident Agent in Charge. See above.
RICO Act: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
ROI: Report of Investigation
SA: Special Agent
SAC: Special Agent in Charge. See above.
SRT: Special Response Team(s)
SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics
TEA: Treasury Enforcement Agent test
TECS: Treasury Enforcement Communications System
TOO: Tactical Operations Officer
TSA: Transportation Security Administration
USSS: United States Secret Service
* Not an officially sanctioned term.
† Also not an officially sanctioned term.