Shapiro touts new effort to track guns, curb violence

Dick’s Sporting Goods lauded for taking part

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro applauded Dick’s Sporting Goods on Friday for being the first major retailer in Pennsylvania to adopt a “modernday” records system for firearms sales — one facet of his office’s new “Track + Trace” initiative that seeks to improve firearms tracking and combat gun violence.

Mr. Shapiro, along with U. S. Attorney Scott Brady and Pittsburgh police Chief Scott Schubert, announced the initiative during a news conference at police headquarters on the North Side.

Track + Trace is a partnership with federal, state and local law enforcement that will use data and build a “first- of- its- kind” investigative team to combat illegal gun trafficking, Mr. Shapiro said.

Two main components make up the initiative: The AG’s office and Pennsylvania State Police will work with gun retailers to modernize record systems for firearms sales; and state law that requires police departments to enter serial numbers from guns used in crimes into a federal lawenforcement crime gun database will be enforced.

That database, called eTrace, is monitored by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The initiative will allow law

enforcement to quickly trace guns found at crime scenes. Mr. Shapiro said he hopes all state retailers will adopt the new system.

Pennsylvania law requires retailers to submit a record of every firearm sale to state police. But most retailers use a paper record that must be mailed and then manually entered into a system, officials said. The AG office’s push for the digitalization of recording gun sales is not mandated by law, however.

Mr. Shapiro said paper records take more time, create backlogs and slow investigations.

“This inhibits the ability of law enforcement to quickly trace guns recovered at crime scenes, determine where they came from, who purchased them, and how they became weapons in a crime,” he said.

Findlay- based Dick’s Sporting Goods is the first major retailer in Pennsylvania to commit to modernizing its input system for gun sales, Mr. Shapiro said. He commended the company’s CEO, Edward Stack, and his team for working with the attorney general’s office to make a transition to digital in recording gun sales.

Pennsylvania law requires police to record serial numbers from crime guns in eTrace.

The ATF traces guns recovered by local agencies and records all information to identify trends and help in investigations.

Local law enforcement agencies can opt to share data with other agencies that have also opted to do so.

Mr. Shapiro said he believes some police agencies haven’t utilized the online database because they aren’t aware of the law or do not know how easy it is to input information into the database.

“This is about us making sure that people understand what the law requires,” Mr. Shapiro said.

Of the nearly 1,100 police agencies in Pennsylvania, only 433 use eTrace, according to the AG’s office. Of those, the AG’s office said, only 63 share data across departments.

Mr. Shapiro called the issue of gun violence a “public health crisis.”

“Every gun starts out as legal,” he said. “An illegal transfer to a prohibited purchaser or criminal is a violation of our laws. These are serious crimes, with serious consequences.”

Chris Murray, manager at Shaw Precision Guns in Bridgeville, said the shop primarily uses physical paperwork to document purchases. It’s a necessity he said some may consider outdated.

“I’m old, so I still like the idea of having a paper trail,” Mr. Murray said. “What if the computer fails, or if the system gets a virus, or someone hacks the data? Can you imagine?”

Although skeptical about the prospect of going completely digital, he said he isn’t against it. “There should be some sort of paper trail though,” he said.

Mr. Shapiro said so far he has received only positive feedback regarding Track + Trace.

“Being able to track that gun from a rural hunting cabin, to the streets of Pittsburgh or the streets of Philadelphia is going to make a difference,” he said. “We’ve got to be smart on crime.”