Don’t police already use ballistic technology to solve gun crimes?
The ballistic imaging technology currently in use by most law enforcement agencies relies on comparison of the subtle, unintentional markings left by firearms on shell casings. However, this technology can match a cartridge found at a crime scene to the firearm it came from only if the crime gun is recovered. When a crime gun is not recovered at the scene, investigators receive return hits from the current ballistics identification system, the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), less than 1.5% of the time. In many cases, these “hits” are only matches to other cartridges found at other crime scenes—letting investigators know that the firearm has been used in another crime without actually identifying the weapon. Microstamping, however, intentionally stamps a code on expended cartridges, ensuring that every casing will bear the serial number of the gun that fired it and eliminating the need to locate the gun or obtain a second casing for comparison.
