[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 136 (Friday, July 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 46117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16759]
[[Page 46117]]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Office of Justice Programs
[OJP (NIJ) Docket No. 1717]
Draft Baseline Specifications for Law Enforcement Service Pistols
With Security Technology
AGENCY: National Institute of Justice, Justice.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks feedback from
the public on a draft document that defines generic baseline
specifications for law enforcement service pistols with additional
technology to enhance the security of the firearms, published here:
http://nij.gov/topics/technology/firearms/pages/welcome.aspx.
DATES: Comments must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on September
13, 2016.
How to Respond and What to Include: The draft baseline
specifications document can be found here: http://nij.gov/topics/technology/firearms/pages/welcome.aspx. To submit comments, please send
an email to [email protected]. Please indicate the page
number, section number, and the line number associated with each
comment. Comments may also be provided as a markup of the Word
document. Please provide contact information with the submission of
comments. Address comments to Mark Greene, Office of Science and
Technology, National Institute of Justice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Greene, Office of Science and
Technology, National Institute of Justice, 810 7th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20531; telephone number: (202) 598-9412; email address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 29, 2016, the U.S. Departments of
Justice (DOJ), Homeland Security (DHS), and Defense (DoD) submitted a
joint report to the President outlining a strategy to expedite
deployment of gun safety technology, found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/final_report-smart_gun_report.pdf.
The report was published in response to Presidential Memorandum,
Promoting Smart Gun Technology, found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/05/memorandum-promoting-smart-gun-technology.
The report described the potential benefits of advanced gun safety
technology, but noted that additional work was required before this
technology is ready for widespread adoption by law enforcement
agencies. In particular, the report stressed the importance of
integrating this technology into a firearm's design without
compromising the reliability, durability, and accuracy that officers
expect from their service weapons.
To address these issues, the report called on law enforcement
agencies to develop ``baseline specifications,'' which would outline
the agencies' operational requirements for any firearms equipped with
gun safety technology. By developing baseline specifications, federal,
state, and municipal law enforcement agencies can make clear to private
manufacturers what they expect from this technology.
DOJ and DHS recently assembled a working group of experts in
firearms technology to identify operational needs and prepare a draft
document that defines generic baseline specifications for law
enforcement service pistols with additional technology to enhance the
security of firearms. The additional security specifications that may
be addressed by smart gun technology are distinguished from more
familiar firearm safety mechanisms. The distinction between safety and
security can be nuanced, and the additional security specifications may
also function as safety features under certain circumstances. However,
this distinction forms the basis of the use of the different
terminology.
The working group was led by NIJ and was comprised of subject
matter experts from various federal law enforcement agencies. The
pistols defined by this document are semi-automatic, recoil-operated,
magazine-fed, striker-fired, and fire 9 mm Luger or .40 S&W ammunition.
The information detailed in this document is informed in part by
specifications enumerated in recent handgun solicitations by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration of Customs
Enforcement (ICE), which are publicly available on FedBizOpps (http://www.fbo.gov) under solicitation numbers RFP-OSCU-DSU1503 and HSCEMS-16-
R-00003, respectively.
Jennifer Scherer,
Deputy Director, National Institute of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2016-16759 Filed 7-14-16; 8:45 am]
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