uncommon1
02-09-2005, 02:56 PM
February 04, 2005, 7:51 a.m.
Ballistic Fingerprinting’s a Dud
Another failed gun-control strategy.
By John R. Lott Jr.
Ballistic fingerprinting was all the rage just a couple of years ago. Maryland and New York were leading the way where a computer database would record the markings made on the bullets from all new guns. The days of criminals using guns were numbered.
Yet, a recent report (http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/~purtilo/ibis.pdf) by the Maryland State Police's forensic-sciences division shows that the systems in both states have been expensive failures. New York is spending $4 million per year. Maryland has spent a total of $2.6 million, about $60 per gun sold. But in the over four years that the systems have been in effect neither has solved a single crime. To put it bluntly, the program "does not aid in the mission statement of the Department of State Police."
The systems have drained so many resources from other police activities that ballistic fingerprinting could end up actually increasing crime. In New York, how many crimes could 50 additional police officers help solve?
The police explain the program's inability to reduce crime because criminals have simply not been using the guns that have been entered into the database. In some cases the claim is that the wrong data has been entered into the computers.
The physics of ballistic fingerprinting are straightforward enough. When a bullet travels through the barrel of a gun, the friction creates markings on the bullet. If the gun is new, imperfections in the way the barrel is drilled can produce different markings on the bullet; such imperfections are most noticeable in inexpensive guns. In older guns, the bullet's friction through the barrel can cause more noticeable wear marks that help differentiate between guns. Many other factors influence the particular markings left on the bullets — for instance, how often the gun is cleaned and what brand of cartridge is used.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/lott200502040751.asp
Ballistic Fingerprinting’s a Dud
Another failed gun-control strategy.
By John R. Lott Jr.
Ballistic fingerprinting was all the rage just a couple of years ago. Maryland and New York were leading the way where a computer database would record the markings made on the bullets from all new guns. The days of criminals using guns were numbered.
Yet, a recent report (http://doubletap.cs.umd.edu/~purtilo/ibis.pdf) by the Maryland State Police's forensic-sciences division shows that the systems in both states have been expensive failures. New York is spending $4 million per year. Maryland has spent a total of $2.6 million, about $60 per gun sold. But in the over four years that the systems have been in effect neither has solved a single crime. To put it bluntly, the program "does not aid in the mission statement of the Department of State Police."
The systems have drained so many resources from other police activities that ballistic fingerprinting could end up actually increasing crime. In New York, how many crimes could 50 additional police officers help solve?
The police explain the program's inability to reduce crime because criminals have simply not been using the guns that have been entered into the database. In some cases the claim is that the wrong data has been entered into the computers.
The physics of ballistic fingerprinting are straightforward enough. When a bullet travels through the barrel of a gun, the friction creates markings on the bullet. If the gun is new, imperfections in the way the barrel is drilled can produce different markings on the bullet; such imperfections are most noticeable in inexpensive guns. In older guns, the bullet's friction through the barrel can cause more noticeable wear marks that help differentiate between guns. Many other factors influence the particular markings left on the bullets — for instance, how often the gun is cleaned and what brand of cartridge is used.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/lott200502040751.asp