• When a handgun is fired a unique ballistic fingerprint is made on both the bullet and the cartridge. Manufacturers would be required to provide gun dealers with a spent bullet and cartridge for each new gun. The dealers would then submit these to the Connecticut Department of Public Safety.
• The proposal is to link Connecticut with Massachusetts to operate a joint computer database. This could also be linked to the Maryland and New York systems which are already up and running to form a regional state system – ultimately nationwide.
• The technology has been used for many years by the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which already have over 120,000 ballistic fingerprints in the federal system.

Nickerson said, “This proposal uses new information technology, which has transformed so many other aspects of American life, to provide police with useful evidence to solve violent crimes. Ballistic fingerprints have been used for many years in criminal courts to link a perpetrator to a crime scene. The time has come to use this effective tool on a broader basis. The interstate compact feature of this legislation recognizes that crime knows no boundaries and that tremendous savings can be achieved by having one database serving multi states.”

"This says to police throughout Connecticut, ‘Here is an effective technological tool to help you do your job."