(November 24, 2020)—The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) InstaCheck Unit is preparing for the upcoming holiday buying season, and particularly Black Friday, which is traditionally the busiest day of the year for the unit.
Black Friday InstaCheck Plan:
(While maintaining social distancing protocols and cleaning efforts to protect the InstaCheck staff, their families and the community as a whole).
- Operational hours will be 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. However, members of the Unit will be processing checks well outside those hours in an effort to minimize wait times as much as possible.
- Utilize other members of the CBI who have been trained to run background checks for firearms transfers.
- Continue to on-board and train temporary employees since the Legislature authorized the hiring of additional staff. (This process will continue into 2021).
“We appreciate the patience and support of our Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) partners during this very challenging year,” said CBI Director John Camper. “We know the volume of firearms transfers has impacted turnaround times for background checks, which has impacted their business models, yet even in those instances where InstaCheck extended beyond the three business-day turnaround requirement, most continue to be supportive and are waiting to ensure the proper checks are completed before releasing the firearms.”
Even with increased staffing plans and extended hours, Camper adds that with the impacts of COVID-19 and the sheer volume of requests being made, turnaround times on Black Friday will be longer than in previous years. “We ask for continued patience as our team works to process these checks as quickly as possible, but with their same commitment to accuracy.”
It is unclear what the numbers may actually look like on November 27, 2020, during a year that has already seen double-digit increases in the number of requests for background checks.
“While the CBI InstaCheck Unit is preparing to address the surge usually expected the day after Thanksgiving, we believe a number of retailers have spread Black Friday sales events throughout the month, which may help mitigate the requests for background checks this coming weekend,” said InstaCheck Program Manager Ross Sibley.
Through October 2020, CBI InstaCheck has received 413,236 requests for background checks for firearms transfers compared to 342,439 for all of last year. The current wait time for background checks is less than three business days.
**CBI InstaCheck Black Friday Stats
2019- 4,460
2018 - 3,846
2017 - 4,779
2016 - 4,242