The Scope and Implications of a Tracing Mechanism for Small Arms ...

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3.5 LESSONS THAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM OTHER
COMMERCIAL SECTORS
Developments in stock control and security systems have led to the
design of a variety of microchips, which can be implanted into suitable parts
of small arms and light weapons and scanned to reveal their unique
identifier. These have the added benefit of supporting automated recordkeeping
systems.
Chipping military small arms and light weapons has tremendous
benefits for the future in tracking the subsequent disposal and movement of
surplus arms from Government stocks as well as recovering stolen weapons.
The downside, however, is that once it becomes common knowledge,
traffickers could quickly disable or remove the chip and authorities would
once again be reliant on conventional markings. In addition, there are
practical difficulties involving the availability of compatible scanners out in
the field to identify recovered weapons.
Notwithstanding this last point, there may be specific occasions,
involving a potentially suspicious transaction, when the relevant authorities
may wish to exploit this technology and covertly deploy implanted
microchips as a means of evidentially verifying the history of a consignment
should it be recovered subsequently in the hands of an illicit end-user.
Another method of stock control is borrowed from supermarkets.
Barcodes are commonly used in the UK for record-keeping purposes by
police to catalogue seized firearms. Barcodes are applied on self-adhesive
labels in places where they can be readily scanned but avoid damage
through daily handling of the weapon. For validation purposes, the barcode
is cross-referenced with the actual manufacturer’s markings listed in the
departmental records. Whilst this will not defeat sanitization, it provides an
inexpensive means of quick identification where the issue and return can
be simplified through an automatic link to computer records to update
stock control. There is potential for additional labels to be concealed inside
the grips or furniture of military small arms to aid subsequent tracing. The
Swiss arms manufacturer, SIG, already incorporates laser etched barcodes
on various parts as an additional security measure that can be exploited for
identification and tracing.