June 10, 2005 - Vol. 39, No. 23 - Crime News

Sep 29, 2026

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June 10, 2005 issue (Vol. 39, No. 23) of Washington Crime News covers major U.S. public-safety and criminal-justice developments. Highlights include California’s proposals for serial-number requirements on handgun ammunition and microstamping for firearms, Illinois’ new stun gun rules with background checks and mandatory training, and Minnesota’s approved crime-law reforms expanding penalties and increasing law-enforcement funding. Court coverage addresses marijuana enforcement, police stops, false arrest immunity, and drug-dealer malice requirements, alongside state-by-state updates on sex assault reviews and law-enforcement practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

IN THIS ISSUE

IN THE COURTS

ACROSS THE STATES

Crime Control

ILLINOIS ADOPTS NEW RULES FOR STUN GUNS

MINNESOTA APPROVES MAJOR CRIME REFORMS

June 10,2005 Vol.39,No.23 ## IN THIS ISSUE Illinois Enacts Law To RequireBackground Checks And TrainingFor Stun Gun Purchasers………2Minnesota Approves Tough CrimeLaw That Hits Sex Predators,MethProcessors,Domestic Abusers..……2FBI Reports Decline in ViolentCrime In 2004;Homicide AndRobbery Fall By 3.6%………………3 ## IN THE COURTS Justices Uphold Federal Ban OnMedical Marijuana While AllowingState Statutes To Stand……………31st Circuit Decides Suspect's ShabbyApparel InResidential AreaJustifies Police Stop,Search……48th Circuit Upholds Search Of ParkedVehicle After Driver Departs BecauseOf Prior Traffic Violation.………4New Jersey Rules False Arrest DoesNot Annul Officer's Immunity….4Pennsylvania Says State Must ProveMalice By Drug Dealer Who ProvidesEcstasy Causing Overdose Death.5 ## ACROSS THE STATES Colo.:Police Coordinate FugitiveSweep To Hit Multiple Districts..5Fla.:Governor Vetoes Bill ToCombat Looting After Storm.……5 N.C.:Police Report Stun Gun UseIn Schools;Injuries Decline………5Utah:Panel Assesses All TypesOf Sex Assaults For Legislature ..5 Crime Control The California legislature is ad- vancing a bill,SB 357,to require manufacturers to put serial numbers on handgun ammunition. The bill,which has cleared theSenate,would also mandate manufac-turers and vendors to register with thestate. The bill would also require the at-torney general to maintain a perma-nent record of all handgun sales. Data on sales of all other weap-ons would be destroyed within fivedays of their submission to the gov-emment for background checks. The measure establishes a Serial-ize Handgun Ammunition Fund thatwould be supported through $50 li-censing fees and a fee of $1 for every 20,000 bullets sold.Vendors wouldpay the fees. Backers of the legislation saidtheserialized bullets would help policeinvestigations of shooting incidentsby directing them to the store wherethe ammunition was purchased. If the bill becomes law,it wouldtake effect in January 2009. California Attorney General BillLockyer drafted the legislation andmany law enforcement agencies sup-port it. "We can put individualized serialnumbers on cartons of yogurt,on al- # California Advances Plan To RequireSerial Numbers On Handgun Bullets most everything in society,with verylittle additional cost,"said Sen.JoeDunn,who sponsored the measure forthe attorney general. 1 The Senate bill would requirevendors to use an electronic device toread the purchaser's driver's licenseat the point of sale and link the li-cense to the ammunition. Ammunition manufacturers testi-fied in opposition to the legislation,contending the costs would be toohigh to justify the benefits to policeinvestigations. The Sporting Ams and Ammuni-tion Manufacturers Institute said theSenate “bill if enacted,amounts to ade facto ammunition ban in Califor-nia.” In a related action,the Assemblyapproved a bill,AB 352,to requiremicro-laser imprinting the make,model and serial number of all hand-guns manufactured after January2007 through a technology called“microstamping”as a crime preven-tion tool. Maryland adopted a ballistic fin-gerprint law,but abandoned it as un-workable. The Califormia bill says,the “mi-croscopic array of characters ….would identify the make,model,andserial number of the pistol.” Page 2 The identifier would be “etchedinto the interior surface or intemalworking parts of the pistol,and whichare transferred by imprinting on eachcartridge case when the firearm isfired.” The sporting arms institute saidthe bill is based on “a faulty assump-tion that this unproven technologywill reduce criminal misuse of fire-arms." ## ILLINOIS ADOPTS NEWRULES FOR STUN GUNS Illinois Gov.Rod Blagojevichplans enacted a bill,SB 1962,thatsets new standards for stun guns thatrequire background checks and man-datory training for civilian purchas-ers. The statute exempts law en-forcement officers. The bill's chief sponsor,StateSen.Jeff Schoenberg,said policeneed to know the owners of

FAQs

What does the California proposal focus on regarding handgun ammunition?

It advances requirements for manufacturers to put serial numbers on handgun ammunition and mandates registration with the state, with the attorney general maintaining a permanent record of handgun sales.

How do Illinois’ new stun gun rules affect civilian purchasers?

Civilian buyers must complete at least one hour of approved instruction, provide required proof during transfer, and present a state firearm owner identification card with a criminal background check, along with a minimum 24-hour wait.

What major reforms does Minnesota approve in this issue?

Minnesota’s omnibus public safety bill increases the law-enforcement budget by 16% over the next two-year cycle and includes major criminal-law changes effective Aug. 1, including lifetime sentences for certain violent sexual predators.

Sep 29, 2026

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