Correction // By Jeffrey Magers, Ed.D.Hollow point ammunition is more effective and safer to use
While there is a legitimate concern about the number of rounds purchased by DHS, there should be no questions about the department’s decision to purchase hollow point rounds. Hollow point rounds do not explode on impact, but rather expand on contact. They are less likely to penetrate completely through a body and strike innocent bystanders. Hollow point rounds are standard ammunition of law enforcement agencies in the United States.
Image of hollow point spread during impact // Source: as36.com
In your 2 May 2013 article, GAO Investigates DHS Ammo Purchases, there is a gross inaccuracy in the statement that hollow point rounds “explode on contact.” Hollow point rounds do not explode on impact, but rather expand on contact, providing more effective stopping power. Also, since hollow point rounds expand on impact, they are less likely to penetrate completely through a body and place innocent bystanders in harm’s way by being struck by a stray bullet passing through the body of the intended target. This makes the hollow point round a safer round to use, especially in urban settings. Simply stated, hollow point ammunition is more effective and safer to use.
The hollow point round is not a “specialized round,” as indicated in the article. The hollow point rounds are standard ammunition of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. I was a police officer for twenty-one years. I became a police officer in 1978. My agency used semi-jacketed hollow points as the standard ammunition the entire length of my career, and hollow point ammunition still remains the standard ammunition. In 1999, NYPD was the last major U.S. law enforcement agency in the U.S. to change from ball ammunition to hollow points (see Massad Ayoob, “The Dangers of Over-Penetrating Bullets,” Gun Digest, 19 April 2012).
I remember this because I retired in 1999 and went to Rochester, N.Y. to teach at a college there. I was astounded to read in the Rochester paper about the controversy of NYPD changing ammunition from ball to hollow point. The reason for the controversy was public ignorance of hollow point ammunition.
While there is a legitimate concern about the number of rounds purchased by DHS and the department’s lack of responsiveness to Congress on the reasons for purchasing this amount of ammunition, the type of ammunition is not extraordinary.
I was quite surprised to see such inaccurate information in Homeland Security News Wire. I think it would be prudent to provide a correction to this story so as not to perpetuate the inaccurate information about hollow point rounds.
Jeffrey Magers, Ed.D. is Associate Professor, Professional Studies Department, Law and Public Policy/Homeland Security/Criminal Justice, California University of Pennsylvania
Editor’s note: The inaccuracies in the article have been corrected.
