N.Y. ballistic database firing blanks so far

[Township75]

ALBANY, N.Y. — A database designed to match handguns in New York state to crime scene evidence has not solved a crime more than three years after its debut.

Pataki administration officials cite difficulties local police can face in getting crime scene evidence to Albany, where the database is housed. But state officials say they are close to solving the problem through a deal that would allow inquiries made around New York to piggyback on a federal ballistic network.

SNIP

Walter Rowe, a professor of forensic science at George Washington University, said there are too many ways to get around New York's database. Criminals can buy guns in neighboring states or simply take a file to the gun's breech face, essentially changing the gun's unique "signature."

"If one does a cost benefit analysis, this might not have been a wise way to spend public money," Rowe said.


Full story is here:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-06-04-ny-ballistics_x.htm

There are plenty of prodatabase parts to the article too, and more parts to outline its faults in the article.