Shapiro Calls For State To Get Tough On Gun Crimes

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office says it wants to improve the management and use of firearms-sales databases so that law enforcement can better clamp down on gun violence.  Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that he wants police departments to enter serial numbers from every crime gun into a law-enforcement database so that its original seller can be identified.  His office says most crime guns aren’t being entered, as the law requires.  Shapiro also says his office wants retailers to submit gun-sale records electronically to get rid of a police backlog of paper records that are waiting to be entered into a database.  Shapiro’s office says that’ll allow law enforcement to more quickly trace guns used in crimes.
The effort comes amid a surge in gun violence in Philadelphia.