Congressman Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) today announced his plan to introduce legislation to establish a national gun database that will use the distinct ballistics markings left on a bullet after it is fired to assist law enforcement officials in tracking the flow of weapons through out the U.S. and to prosecute perpetrators of gun crimes.  Andrews bill, The Gun Ballistics Safety Act, which he will introduce tomorrow, is specifically designed to help law enforcement officials by matching ballistics markings found on crime scene bullets with gun manufacturers point of sale records in order to track the flow of illegal fire arms, particularly those sold to juveniles, identify illegal gun trade hubs and to prosecute those who have been profiting from the illegal gun trade.

"The idea here is to use technology to our advantage.  We have the capability of establishing a system of shared data similar to the nation's fingerprint database, that will instantly tell law enforcement officials who, when and where a gun was purchased as well as whether that gun was used in any other crimes that can be linked to its owner," said Rep. Andrews.  "At the very least, this database will enable law enforcement officials to track the flow of illegal guns, establish probable cause for surveillance and search warrants for suspected illegal dealers and begin to chip away at the country's intricate illegal gun trade.  At best, this system will lead law enforcement officials right to the perpetrator. I am optimistic of the possibilities of enacting such a system."

When a bullet is fired from a gun, the firearm leaves distinct markings on the surface of the bullet or shell casing similar to a fingerprint.  These markings are so unique that law enforcement officials use them during investigations to identify whether a recovered firearm was used to perpetrate a crime.  However, many guns used in crimes are never recovered and therefore the ballistics markings found on bullets at the crime scene cannot be used to prosecute these crimes.  With the implementation of Rep. Andrews ballistics database, the actual recovery of the weapon is not critical to the initial investigation as investigators can begin to establish leads based on information available to them via the gun registry database.

Currently the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) National Tracing Center (NTC) is responsible for tracing guns that are used in crimes and recovered at crime scenes.  Local police can submit a request to the NTC to match the serial number on each gun with the record of sale kept by the manufacturer.   The manufacturer is required to provide the name of the wholesale or retail distributor and the date that the gun was sold.  Under Andrews' plan, law enforcement officials can use ballistics markings to match a crime gun with point of sale records instead of the serial number, which may have been intentionally destroyed to prevent identification or may not be available because the firearm has not been located.  The chain of wholesale and retail transactions is then followed from the point of sale to an individual.

One of the main objectives of this program is to prevent juveniles from obtaining illegal firearms.  In a report released by the New Jersey Department of Education during this past summer, Camden, Burlington and Gloucester counties have all reported a sharp rise (34%, 20%, 33% respectively) in weapons incidents in the counties' schools from 1998 to 1999.  In all three counties in 1999, over 230 juveniles were arrested on weapons possession offenses.

Over 25% of crime guns recovered by law enforcement officials have moved rapidly from retail sale to point of recovery.  Such fast "time to crime" guns are likely to have been trafficked. Through the use of this database, officials can begin to keep track of this rapid movement and begin to uncover patterns that will lead them to the source.  Illegal trafficking sources include straw purchasing rings, individual straw purchasers, unregulated private sellers at gun shows and elsewhere, trafficking in stolen firearms and trafficking by federally-licensed firearms dealers.  Through the use of this database, officials can begin to identify and eliminate the illegal supply of firearms to and illegal use by prohibited juveniles by identifying the illegal sources of crime guns and using that information to put gun traffickers out of business.

   "No-one, not even the gun lobby, believes that the illegal gun trafficking that devastates such cities as Camden should be tolerated.  Congressman Andrews' bill will vastly improve the ability of law enforcement to track the illegal movement of guns, to determine trends in the sale and transfer of illegal guns and to put gun traffickers and gun-toting criminals behind bars,” said Bryan Miller, Executive Director, CEASEFIRE NEW JERSEY, the statewide coalition of groups and individuals devoted to reducing gun violence.  “Congressman Andrews' effort has particular meaning for New Jersey, where it is estimated that nearly 80% of crime guns come from out-of-state.  CEASEFIRE applauds Congressman Andrews' effort to make our communities safer from gun violence."

As part of an entire day devoted to keeping kids safe while they learn Congressman Andrews visited Maple Shade High School to discuss initiatives in Congress aimed at protecting students from violence while they are in school.  Andrews next visited Mary Volz School in Runnemede to highlight legislation he authored that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products in school vending machines.  In May of 1999, students from the Mary Volz School met with Congressman Andrews to voice their support for this legislation.   

Rep. Andrews will introduce the 2000 Gun Ballistics Safety Act on Tuesday, September 12, 2000.