A. According to F.B.I. data, no arrests are made in nearly 40 percent of murder investigations across the country because police lack the evidence they need (Uniform Crime Reports, Table: Percent of Crimes Cleared by Arrest or Exceptional Means). Of the almost 15,000 murders committed in 2007, more than 68 percent were committed with firearms (Uniform Crime Reports, Table 7). Law enforcement needs every tool possible to track down gun criminals and solve crimes. Microstamping technology will help law enforcement identify and apprehend armed criminals before they inflict more harm on others, including innocent bystanders.
Q. How will microstamping help solve crimes?
A. If law enforcement officers can quickly learn the serial number of the gun used in a crime, even without recovering the actual gun, they will be able to track down the gun’s owner, or at least identify its original owner, which could be a critical lead in solving the crime. When investigating drive-by shootings, for example, the only evidence police recover at the crime scene is often spent bullet casings. If a bullet casing can be used to identify the gun used in the crime, law enforcement can use that lead to track down the criminal before more lives are lost.
Q. How much does it cost?
A. Cost estimates for the specialized firing pins range from 50 cents to $6.00 and would be borne by the manufacturer (Press release, NY Assemblywoman Schimel, 2008). No new databases or examiners would be required, so there would be no cost to state governments. Additionally, the technology’s co-inventor has agreed to offer the technology royalty-free to any gun manufacturer.
Q. Is the technology reliable?
A. Yes. Independent testing by a forensic examiner has shown that the engraved characters on the firing pins are extremely durable and will not wear down over time. A firearm equipped with microstamping technology that had been test-fired more 5800 times still imprinted clearly readable characters at a live-fire demonstration in Albany, New York in 2008 (Press release, NY Assemblywoman Schimel, 2008).
Q. Can a criminal defeat the technology?
A. Tests have shown the technology, now in its third generation, to be highly tamper resistant. Even if a criminal were able to remove the markings off the tip of the firing pin, there are microscopic redundant back-up markings that would still imprint the code onto the casing. Most criminals would not know how to find the technology, which is invisible to the naked eye, let alone defeat it.
Q. How will microstamping impact law-abiding gun owners?
A. Microstamping would not impact law-abiding gun owners. The process for purchasing a handgun will be the same as the current process. No new registration or permitting will be required. In addition, routine maintenance and cleaning of a firearm will have no effect on the technology. Microstamping is simply another important tool for law enforcement to use in solving handgun crimes and preventing gun trafficking.
Q. Will microstamping reduce crime even when criminals get guns illegally?
A. Criminals frequently obtain their firearms via people with clean records, known as straw buyers, who they recruit to buy new handguns for them at gun dealers. But once straw buyers start to understand that a crime committed with a trafficked gun could be easily traced to them, they will think twice before buying new handguns for gun traffickers. This will help cut off an important source of crime guns.
By reducing the illegal flow of handguns into the illegal market, criminals may have reduced access to guns. Microstamping is a valuable tool, like fingerprinting and DNA testing, to help police investigate, arrest and convict people who use semiautomatic handguns in crimes and to deter straw buyers who supply gun traffickers. Microstamping will provide law enforcement with more robust crime gun data, which will help them identify crime gun trafficking channels.
Q. Will microstamping reduce crime even when criminals get guns illegally?
A. Criminals frequently obtain their firearms via people with clean records, known as straw buyers, who they recruit to buy new handguns for them at gun dealers. But once straw buyers start to understand that a crime committed with a trafficked gun could be easily traced to them, they will think twice before buying new handguns for gun traffickers. This will help cut off an important source of crime guns.
By reducing the illegal flow of handguns into the illegal market, criminals may have reduced access to guns. Microstamping is a valuable tool, like fingerprinting and DNA testing, to help police investigate, arrest and convict people who use semiautomatic handguns in crimes and to deter straw buyers who supply gun traffickers. Microstamping will provide law enforcement with more robust crime gun data, which will help them identify crime gun trafficking channels.
Q. What states have passed microstamping laws?
A. California became the first state to adopt microstamping when Governor Schwarzenegger signed the legislation on October 13, 2007. The California law will take effect January 1, 2010.
Q. Is law enforcement supportive of microstamping technology?
A. Yes. The California law was supported by the California Police Chiefs Association, the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs' Association, Orange County Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), in addition to 65 police chiefs and sheriffs throughout the state.
Q. Does the public support microstamping technology?
A. Yes. Seventy-three percent of the public, including 61 percent of gun owners, favor laws that allow law enforcement to connect bullets to the gun that fired them (ABC News, 2002).
Q. What can I do?
A. Contact your Representative and Senators to urge them to support microstamping legislation that would help law enforcement identify and apprehend armed criminals.
Overview