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Firearms Evidence Research Paper

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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

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