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U.K. researchers are developing a coating for bullet casings that sticks to the hands (or gloves) of anyone handling it and is very difficult to remove. The idea is to give each bullet a "fingerprint" that can be traced to a given crime.

Today, cops rely on generic gunpowder, primer and lubricants getting on the shooter's hands and clothing when a bullet is fired. Such techniques can tell when someone has fired a gun, but can't tie a shooter to a specific bullet casing.

The new coating is made from chemicals infused with nano-sized particles 30 microns in diameter (one micron is one millionth of a meter).

Each coating can have a slightly different chemical composition to give it a unique signature that can help establish a link between a fired cartridge and a shooter, according to University of Surrey chemistry professor Paul Sermon, who led a team of colleagues from other universities with more than $743,000 in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the U.K.'s main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences.

In addition to the coating, the researchers are also experimenting with bullet casings made with a micro-patterned pyramid texture able to retain dead skin cells--and with it, DNA evidence--from a thumb as it loads a cartridge into a firearm. Law enforcement has a difficult time extracting DNA or prints from bullet casings due to their smooth, shiny surfaces. Generally, efforts by law enforcement in the U.K. to use DNA evidence from gun cartridges are only successful about 10 percent of the time, according to Sermon.

Sermon says both the nanotag and DNA capture technologies could be available for use within a year, adding that he and his team are currently focusing on understanding the precise requirements of the police and cartridge manufacturers.

Of course, gun violence in the U.S. is a whole different animal. Whereas England's Home Office reports a total of 21,521 offenses involving firearms committed in England and Wales in 2005 and 2006, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) in 2005 reports that 477,040 victims of violent crimes in the U.S. stated that they faced an offender with a firearm.

*Image courtesy of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

4 Comments

1. 1. Bill Anderson 05:26 PM 8/4/08

   SO use gloves and throw them away after you commit a crime. All criminals with a I.Q. above room temperature all ready do this , hell they throw away ( or destroy) the murder implement as well , I find this to be a fine idea but only to capture the most stupid of criminals , the ones who are truly dangerous are not the under educated , but the ones who know the rules of engagement.........like the ones to read this article who are a danger to society !

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2. 2. dfp 06:39 PM 8/4/08

   Sure, gloves and so on. Pretty obvious workaround.
   
   The other pitfall is that "bio" security techniques, sampling DNA, retinal scans, etc., can be mislead and so an increase in the dependence on these techniques means that convicting the wrong person is 'incentivised'.

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3. 3. arrgsignin 06:49 PM 8/4/08

   What about medical problems associated with nano-dust? I'm a hunter. Will this stuff get into my lungs and cause problems? Will it ever come off my skin? Will it go into the skin and cause problems? When medical reports regarding the dangers of nano-particles are just starting, perhaps this is not the method we should be using to tag bullets. I am much more in favor of the bullets that steal skin cells or DNA.

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4. 4. Gizmo25 03:39 PM 11/30/08

   The above statements are true. And who says that this will not just create a black market of untagged bullets from other countries. Another government program that will never work. Most crimes are committed by repeat offenders, lets nano tag all criminals instead. Same type of devices that are now used to tag our pets but make them traceable by cell towers. We could also make the punishment so severe that most criminals wouldn't think of using firearms.

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