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IPFS News Link • Gun Rights

Maryland Gun Tracking Database Scrapped After Failing To Solve A Single Crime

• http://www.prisonplanet.com, Steve Watson

The state of Maryland, which has some of the most stringent gun laws in the US, has scrapped a scheme it has been operating for fifteen years allowing police to keep a gun tracking database, because it has failed to contribute anything to a single criminal case.

The system worked by storing photographs of spent casings fired by every gun sold in the state, which manufacturers were mandated to provide.

The idea behind the registry is that every firearm leaves unique markings on the casings it fires, creating a "ballistic fingerprint," thus police would theoretically be able to trace casings found at crime scenes to a specific firearm.

Even if you look beyond the ridiculous notions that most criminals adhere to gun laws and keep registered firearms, the database still never worked, because the software was too poorly designed and implemented.

Police were never able to match up a shell found at a crime scene to a registered gun using the system, NOT ONCE in fifteen years.