Maryland State Police Seeking to Retool Ballistic Imaging Program!

NRA - ILA ^ | April 21, 2008 | NA

[neverdem]

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683

Maryland State Police Seeking to Retool Ballistic Imaging Program!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Please Make Your Voice Heard Today! 

The Maryland State Police have quietly drafted new regulations on the state’s ballistic imaging program, the Maryland Integrated Ballistics Identification System (MD-IBIS).  

Current regulations require that “The pertinent data base be searchable for comparison purposes to shell casings from crime scenes for the purpose of identifying the source of these casings.” If the new regulations are adopted the language concerning crime scenes will be removed and require that “The pertinent data base shall be searchable for comparison purposes to shell casings that originate from handguns specified in Public Safety Article § 5-101(n), Annotated Code of Maryland.”

By eliminating the crime scene references, the database may “be searchable for comparison purposes to shell casings that are NOT from crime scenes.” Why does the Maryland State Police want to eliminate the crime scene language?

In 2005, the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division called for the scraping of the program after it stated it found the program to be an ineffective tool for law enforcement and “has not met the expectations and does not aid in the Mission statement of the Department of State Police” and costing the taxpayers of Maryland over $2.5 million dollars. Now, the Maryland State Police are looking to expand this program with no cause and clarification for the changes.

These changes are of serious concern due to the lack of any scheduled public hearings and input from the Maryland General Assembly. The public may comment on these changes until Monday, April 28.  Please contact Jay Tobin, Director of Forensic Sciences Division, IMMEDIATELY and respectfully voice your concern and disapproval of these new regulations.  Contact information can be found below.

Jay Tobin, Director of Forensic Sciences Division,
Department of State Police
221 Milford Mill Road,
Pikesville, MD 21208

Phone: (443) 357-1301
Fax: (443) 357-1310
Email: jtobin@mdsp.org

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Find this item at: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3849

[neverdem]

Like Lazarus, it's back from the dead, now on steroids.

[EagleUSA]

Now, the Maryland State Police are looking to expand this program with no cause and clarification for the changes.
:::::::
These anti-Constitutional paranoid leftists are not fooling anyone. Their goal is to disarm the armed law-abiding American public...a force they fear more than anything. They fear the Second Amendment for the exact reason it was included in the Bill of Rights.

Eyes wide open.

[org.whodat]

Has anyone ever shown these fools what a file and sand paper does to metal.

[woodbutcher]

The only way this would work is for it to become a prison sentence to allow a gun to be stolen from you.

Because most crimes are committed with a “hot” weapon.

Why is such a beautiful state governed by idiots?

CSSJR

If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor’s right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.

[JRandomFreeper]

Scary part for them is that as some of us get older, we don't have a darn thing to lose, and everything to gain.

I was never too good with rules to begin with.

/johnny/

[Ajnin]

As longs they keep taking away rights a little at a time the leftist have nothing to fear.

[Travis McGee]

I’m so glad I live in a free state now.

(Ironically, that is the outdated nickname of MD, the free state.)

[paul51]

Why does the Maryland State Police want to eliminate the crime scene language?

So they can develop a data base of a casing from every firearm sold in the state.

[shadowcat]

sssssshh

[lowbridge]

bump

[VanShuyten]

They already do that. Every time a handgun is sold, a fired cartridge case has to be sent to the Maryland Patrol. If I remember correctly, this program has not resulted in a single conviction in the 8 or 9 years of the program. I’m pretty sure it hasn’t even led to any arrests.

[Myrddin]

It hasn't resulted in a single conviction...even with the small search space of only crime scene related items. Once the database is massively expanded, it is even less likely that a match will ever be found. It will require a lot more disk and CPU resources. It's a job security program for a bunch of incompetent boobs.

[Smokin' Joe]

So they can develop a data base of a casing from every firearm sold in the state.

Close, but it is so they can develop a de facto registry of every firearm sold in the state.

If you send in the info, you are registered, as is your gun.

[AlmaKing]

But, you can change your strike markings as a previous poster mentioned above, correct, rendering this silliness useless.

But, then they’ll make that illegal.

[Smokin' Joe]

Regardless of the utility of the cartridge casings, they have a list of who owns what.

A readily available registry of firearms and owners in the state.

Let that sink in for a second.

With this program your guns are registered, something gun owners have been fighting tooth and nail for a long time. It isn't about the 'fingerprint', its about the registry.

[leadhead]

If I remember correctly, this program has not resulted in a single conviction in the 8 or 9 years of the program. I’m pretty sure it hasn’t even led to any arrests.

Mostly because revolvers don't leave shell casings and regular cleaning with a stainless steel brush changes the rifling marks. Have they ever used a gun?

As an aside, I met a retired State cop who showed me the holster he retired with. The revolver was stuck to the leather from non-use and because inspections only looked at how you shined the holster and gun butt. For his own safety, he had an ankle holster and a personal weapon of untraceable origin.

[ko_kyi]

If I remember correctly, this program has not resulted in a single conviction in the 8 or 9 years of the program. I’m pretty sure it hasn’t even led to any arrests.

On the bright side, it costs the taxpayers a million a year or so.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I'm not sure that this little stunt has any rational basis.

Maryland "Freak State" PING!

[P8riot]

Why is such a beautiful state governed by idiots?

Because the majority of the electorate are idiots.

[TXnMA]

No doubt, these idiots have never heard of brass catchers...