Closer To A Safety Target
Engineers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology say they have made progress in the development of a gun that can be operated only by its owner. They have created a prototype device that features sensors in the gun handle that can recognize a person’s grip. Researchers says the “smart” gun can be put on the market within five years. “It’s an engineering problem, not a scientific problem,” asserts Michael Recce, who first conceived of the grip-recognition gun in 1999, adding that the only hurdles are funding and time. However, a 2005 study from a committee of the National Academy of Engineering indicated that any of the different smart guns would need five to 10 years to be commercially viable in addition to $30 million. Meanwhile, the state of New Jersey has determined that within three years, all handguns sold in the state must feature some type of recognition technology. If passed, the law would be the only one of its kind in the country. Smart gun opponents say incorporating such technologies would cause gun prices to rise. Some gun control supporters fear that the technology could make owners feel safer than they really are. Philip J. Cook, an economist at Duke University, estimates that if all handguns were equipped with recognition technology, more than 4,000 lives would be saved annually by preventing homicides, accidents, and teen suicides. FBI data indicates that one in six officers who are killed annually is killed with his or her weapon.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Philadelphia Inquirer (05/25/06); Avril, Tom .