AN electronic handgun — called a smart gun — that cannot be fired by unauthorised users, may soon become part of the arsenal of the Jamaican security forces, if all goes according to plan.

Officials of the National Security Ministry, excited over the prospective level of control that such a gun affords, have asked the Police High Command to contact the manufacturers of the electronic gun for more information and possible demonstrations.

Development of the smart gun technology is now in an advanced stage at Metal Storm, a Brisbane, Australia-based electronic ballistics firm that operates a subsidiary in Washington D C in the United States.

“The (national security) ministry is very excited about this technology and we have asked the police to talk to the firm doing the research,” Donovan Nelson, the ministry’s spokesman, told the Sunday Observer.

Since 1994 when it was founded by Australian inventor, Mike O’Dwyer, Metal Storm has been developing technology aimed at superseding conventional ballistics systems to achieve firing rates in excess of a million rounds per minute.

In fact, the US Army’s Massachusetts-based Natick Soldier Centre is reportedly considering the Metal Storm technology for inclusion in arsenal planned under its Future Warrior project, which is aimed at equipping American soldiers with the most advanced weapons-based 21st century technologies.

Metal Storm’s achievements in the research have also earned it the respect of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) which, in August this year, signed a formal partnership agreement with the Australian firm to jointly commercialise Metal Storm’s O’Dwyer VLe (Variable Lethality) electronic handgun, or smart gun, with NJIT’s recently patented Dynamic Grip Recognition (DGR) biometric authorising technology. The VLe technology allows handguns to be equipped with single or multiple barrels with the ability to fire a choice of lethal or less-than-lethal rounds.

“A variety of barrels can be grouped into a ‘pod’ or cluster of two or more barrels for any number of purposes,” explained Arthur Schatz, Metal Storm’s senior vice-president for operations, in an e-mail response to a Sunday Observer query.

“Each barrel could independently contain different calibres of bullets or projectiles, as well as a variety of lethal or less-than-lethal projectiles.”

The Metal Storm/NJIT deal was triggered by legislation passed by the state of New Jersey in December 2002 specifying that “three years after it is determined that personalised handguns are available for retail purposes, it will be illegal… for any dealer or manufacturer to sell, assign or transfer any handgun unless that handgun is a personalised handgun”.

New York, Ohio and Tennessee, as well as the US Congress are reported to be preparing similar legislation that ballistics experts say will ensure greater handgun safety and control.

It is against that background and the violence associated with firearm thefts in Jamaica that the island’s security officials are interested in the electronic handgun.

“The most important factor to us is that the gun cannot be used by anyone other than the people authorised to use it,” said Woodrow Smith, the national security ministry’s director of security.

“If we had that safeguard,” Smith added, “then those guns, when stolen, would be inoperable.”

Last year, a total of 92 guns were stolen from licensed firearm holders and the police, six less than the previous year and six more than the 86 recorded in 2000. Between January 1 and October 17 this year, police data show that 71 guns had been stolen from their owners and users, compared with 60 for the same period last year.

Often, the lives of the persons from whom the guns are taken are snuffed out by their criminal attackers who, in most instances, target the victims to get the weapons. Those guns are, in turn, used to commit robberies, murders and other violent crimes across the country.

Last year, 710 persons were shot dead in Jamaica, while the figure for this year so far is 548, police said.

Another clear advantage of the smart gun is that it would, for example, eliminate the possibility of claims that guns could be planted on innocent people, as was alleged to have occurred at Crawle in Clarendon.

The national security ministry’s Smith believes that Jamaica would see a reduction in these crimes with the acquisition of electronic handguns, not only for the police, but for civilians as well. “I think it would do well for licensed firearm holders,” he told the newspaper.

Smith was obviously impressed with Schatz’s outline of the electronic gun’s mechanics. “Our current VLe model uses a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) capability,” said Schatz in his e-mail, which the Sunday Observer shared with the security ministry.

“With a small transmitter embedded into the grip of the gun, and a small receiver (about the size of a grain of rice) assigned to the user, the gun can be programmed to a specific code that will only be authorised by the wearer, or wearers, of the receiver.

“This allows for a group of two, or many, authorised users, but totally denies access to a third party who does not have the RFID receiver with him. Where this receiver is located is a matter of preference and security that has proven to be extremely effective,” Schatz said.

The high-tech New Jersey Institute of Technology is collaborating with Metal Storm to develop the smart gun. NJIT’s vice-president for research and development, Dr Donald Sebastian, has described the technology as “the future in handgun safety and control”.

Schatz believes that law enforcement agencies will take much convincing before they switch from their traditional mechanical weapons to the electronic handgun. But he was optimistic that they would do so, once they became familiar with the benefits.

“As these guns become available and distributed to agencies for their tests, it is our belief they will become converts after firing the gun numerous times in a variety of conditions and becoming comfortable with the expected performance that should exceed that of a normal mechanical handgun,” he told the newspaper.

Schatz boasted that the weapon was so reliable that it would “far exceed” that of his own company’s current mechanical technology which prevents the gun from jamming.

He was unable to say in what calibre the smart gun would be available, explaining that it “really will be up to the end-user to select what calibre, how many barrels, lethal only, or a combination of lethal and less-than-lethal, and what added capabilities they might want, such as embedded cell phone, GPS, video, etc”.

Schatz also said that Metal Storm had not yet made a final decision on the construction material for the gun, given that it is made up of a small number of components, namely a barrel, a grip, electronic chip and battery, and associated fire control wiring,

“We can use steel or composite barrels,” he said. “The handgrip can be most any material, including plastic, so ultimately when we get into the production mode we will make a decision as to the best material to produce the longest lasting product with the most reasonable and effective cost.