[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]
 BILLING CODE 4410-18-P