The best practices for processing firearms evidence include: unloading revolvers, if the firearm or gun contains a revolver, it should be marked to indicate its position as found. The position of the cartridge should be recorded in field notes as diagrammed below. All cartridges or cases removed should be handled to preserve fingerprints. Each cartridge case should be packaged separately and referenced to the information in the field notes (California Dept. of Justice, 1984). For unloading single shot or auto loading firearms, make a record of the position, cocking indicator, loaded chamber indicator, selector, or other control feature, when found. The magazine should be removed when the firearm is pointed in a safe direction. The …show more content…
Take care to preserve any possible evidence such as fingerprints and trace evidence. When preparing semiautomatics and fully automatics, all the magazines should be ejected and the chambers empty. Safety position must be off and the de-cocking lever as well. If there are no safeties or de-cocking lever, note of that should be taken as well (California Dept. of Justice, 1984). The weapon must be examined further for more evidence such as blood, hair, fibers, or paint that can be important. As the weapon is transported to a laboratory, it must be personally delivered. The loaded handgun must be transported in a specialized constructed box which has a means of securely holding the firearm and has a metal plate blocking the muzzle. If the firearm is to be sent by mail it must be unloaded and securely packaged (Lofland, 2013). Other important procedures of handling firearm evidence include recording the serial number of the firearm and it matches the number on the photo, the make, the model, and caliber of the weapon. The bore of the gun should never be cleaned as well as the chamber and the cylinder before a firearm is submitted. Guns must be placed in strong cardboard or wooden boxes to avoid shifting in transit. A weapon should never be picked up by placing a pencil or other object at the end of the barrel. The best way to avoid contamination of evidence is by wearing gloves and a face …show more content…
Firearms should always be placed in cardboard boxes. If a firearm is found in water, then it must be packaged in the same water it was found. When handling bullets, your bare hands should not be used at all. To avoid corrosion or other moisture related issues, bullets should be packaged in paper boxes such as cardboard instead of glass and plastic packaging. If a bullet is found in a wall, digging out the bullet should not be done, but if possible, submitting the whole thing in which the bullet was found should be done. If not possible, then a small portion should be cut off with the bullet retained in it. During an autopsy, a bullet can be removed in a way that it does not alter the bullet. Care must be taken as fingers or rubber tipped forceps can be used to take out the bullet (Lofland, 2013) X-rays of a deceased person should be taken prior to the bullet removal. When examining holes made by bullets, forensic technicians should also analyze the types of cracks that protrude if they are radial or concentric. Bullet holes in the crime scene are also numbered since they are also evidence. A photographic technique known as Darkfield Illumination is used to document bullet holes in glass. To achieve better results, the technique should be conducted in dark conditions. Bullet ricochet occurs when a bullet deflects of a surface instead of penetrating it. Low velocity heavy bullets can be deflected on a hard
Forensic ballistics and firearm investigation begin when the bullets, cartridges, a weapon, or any combination of the above found at a crime scene. With the evidence, a crime laboratory will explore for clues on some things that might cause a suspect or possible to prove that the things were used in the crime. By contrast, the markings on the bullets or cartridges found at the scene with those discharged from the suspect’s weapon, a ballistics expert will typically confirm if the rounds came from a similar weapon. Just the act of cycling a cartridge through the weapon without firing it will leave permanent scratches on the case that is distinctive to the weapon.
I think the interesting thing about working with firearm evidence is learning about different types of weapons, identifying different markings on bullets and learning about the bullet trajectory and distance. The challenging part would be examining bullets that are broken or mutilated.
It is important for a forensic scientist to determine the distance from a gun to a shooter because in some cases a
The gathering, protection and safeguarding of evidence is a crucial facet of evidence integrity, without accurate adherence to these processes, vital evidence that could possibly have significant influence on a court case could be deemed inadmissible. Therefore identifies the importance in establishing policy and procedure for law enforcement agencies in the identification, collection, and storage of evidence. Objects that constitute fruits, instrumentalities, or evidence of the crime or are contraband may be introduced in evidence and exhibited to the jury if it is proven that such objects offered as evidence relate to the crime charged (Garland, 2015, p. 417). Below is a procedure for handling physical evidence for presentation
We found a 40 caliber at the house that matched the casings from the scene, we diagramed the location and the condition as well as photographed before recovering and securing. I examined to see if the weapon was loaded and it was not. I marked the position of the cylinder, using two pen marks I put on the top of the cylinder alone each side of the top strap of the frame. I noted the loaded casings found in the box of ammunition in the field notes. It was then bagged and sent to the lab.
The wet blood should be transferred onto clean cotton cloth. Bloodstained cotton cloth must be allowed to air dry before packaging in a paper container. Each object and container must be properly labeled. Dried bloodstains on weapons, for example, should be collected separately by collecting the entire item. Each item should be placed in its own paper container, and these should be sealed and labeled properly. The bloodstain pattern should be documented and sketched to the extent necessary. The stain can be tape lifted or scraped off the object onto a clean piece of paper. The tape lifter or the paper with blood can then be placed into a druggist fold, and placed in an envelope which is sealed. Each item must be labeled
In addition , they also have to investigate. When the FBI arrive to a crime scene, they first look to see if they can see the weapons. Finding the weapon is a crucial step to finding the killer. A gun leaves the same unique patterns of marks on every bullet it fires. If the crime scene is by a river then police divers search for missing weapons at the bottom of river, lakes, and ponds. There may, however, be more than one crime scene.
I’m going to tell you how to clean a muzzleloader. I have done this a lot with my dad this year. When you clean guns make sure that are not in a carpet place. Do it in a room with floors that are easy to clean. The first paragraph will be talking about the supplies you will need to get. The second paragraph will be talking about the first thing you will need do to the Muzzleloader also called a gun. The third is going to be about the final steps to clean the gun.
Do you know what the steps are when it comes to processing firearms evidence? The first step to processing a firearm as evidence is to put gloves on your hands. Then you should take pictures of the gun when you find it at the crime scene. Make sure the picture is as clear as possible because it will be used in the court room. Make sure you included some form of measuring the gun that is in the picture. Next, take the bullets out of the gun and put the bullets in a line. Take a picture of it so the court can see the amount of bullets that was found at the crime scene in each gun. You also need to take pictures of all of the empty bullet shells that you may
When evidence is gathered, different equipment and processes are used to determinate what it means. In 2011, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated that 8,583 murder victims, in the United States, died because of a firearm. Forensic scientist can use equipment, such as the Integrated Ballistic Identification System, to find what firearm was used (Bureau). "They used a shotgun loaded with double-O buckshot. Inside the casing for each shot are nine
The victim sustained a gunshot to the abdomen and in the head. After analysing photographs of the crime scene and the bullet entries in the body, the investigators were able to determine the trajectory of the bullet’s path and discovered that for the gunshot to the abdomen the assailant was approximately 2 feet away. After being shot in the abdomen, the victim attempted to distance herself when she fell and the assailant came closer and shot her in the head. The two bullets were retrieved from the body so they could examine the bullet’s tool marks and they discovered that the bullets are a .38 caliber. The bullet’s lands and grooves will later be used to match the bullets to the assailant’s
Firearms that are left behind at a crime scene can be extremely helpful. This evidence includes not only the firearm itself but also the ammunition used in the firearm, componets that make up the firearms, and the residue that comes out when the
The forensic examinations I would perform are bullet stria examination, external ballistics, blackening, GSR testing, and ferrozine testing. Based on the stria of the rounds that can be recovered from the walls of the crime scene they can be matched to test rounds fired from the weapon to confirm they match. Stria can also be called striation marks. Stria or Striation marks are spiral lines left on the bullet and bullet casing. Stria on the bullet is formed by the barrel rifling when the weapon is fired.
Dust and moisture can cause major damage to most guns and affect their performance. Guns may not be as delicate or breakable as laptop computers, but they can be damaged if they are unprotected while being carried around or laying in a cabinet. For many people, a gun is an investment, and it requires a quality gun case that will protect it from the damaging effects of the environment. Regular cleaning along with the protection of a good gun case will help to increase your gun’s durability and performance.
All firearms must be packed in a checked bag, unloaded. Ammunition must be packed in the original container. You must tell the ticket counter agent that your bag contains a firearm, so check in at the assistance line instead of the kiosk. The agent will fill out a form that you must show to the TSA agent. The TSA agent may inspect the weapon.