Micro-stamping

In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson's National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence recommended "a system of giving each gun a number and the development of some device to imprint this number on each bullet fired from the gun." In modern day, this concept was termed "micro-stamping." Micro-stamping refers to the forensic technology that enables a firearm to imprint a microscopic code, of identifying letters and numbers, onto each fired shell casing. The code would be unique to each individual firearm. The goal is to alter the firing pin in manufactured handguns, so that every time the firing pin hits the primer cap, a unique, microscopic code is engraved on the cartridge casing.

The process of micro-stamping includes altering all newly manufactured handguns' firing pins, to engrave this code on each casing upon being fired. Prior to the sale of the firearm, the unique code will be entered into a large computer database that will identifying the pistols make, model, and serial number. The idea is that when a shell casing is found at a crime scene, the code will be seen under microscope, run against the computer database, and traced back to the exact firearm it was expended from. It is theorized that upon using this method, law enforcement will be able to catch the criminal.

This method is wonderful in theory, but it has many obvious flaws. If everything works out properly and according to plan, this method would work flawlessly, but as we all know, that rarely happens. For starters, the testing of this technique has failed repeatedly in trials. An obvious flaw to this technique is no shell casing being left behind after a crime is committed. Whether it be a handgun that doesn't eject a shell casing, such as a revolver (which are commonly used to committ crimes), or the criminal not leaving it behind because of the well-publicized micro-stamp located on the cartridge that can trace he/she to the crime. Micro-stampings can be easily removed, or the firing pin can be removed or altered, with nothing more than household tools. Also, this new technique will increase gun thefts and illegal trafficking of handguns, because criminals would be further encouraged to obtain guns illegally knowing that legally obtained pistols would link them to a computer database.

Sources:
NRA-ILA. (2011). Micro-stamping.
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=246&issue=100

BATFE, Crime Gun Trace Reports. (2000). National Report, http://www.atf.gov/firearms/ycgii/2000/highlights.pdf.

Helmke, P. (2007). It's time to pass micro-stamping in California.
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Retrieved from
http://blog.bradycampaign.org/?p=66