Sarah Schulteis
Professor Papez
Intro to Forensic Science
28 March 2015
Firearm Investigation
Firearm investigation is a “specialty of forensic science focusing on the examination of firearms,” (Rankin) and has been around for hundreds of years. One of the earliest recorded cases was of a man shot and killed in 1784 England with a pistol. The police found the wad of paper from the weapon and matched it to a piece of torn newspaper in a suspect’s pocket, sending him to jail (Triple Murder). In modern times, examining the engravings, striations, and bullets, a trained eye can distinguish the type of firearm used, and sometimes identify the exact one. Ballistics can help recreate a crime scene by analyzing the wound size, damage, and angle of the bullet hole, along with the distribution of ammunition and cartridges. Gunshot residue is another commonly implemented technique testing hands, nearby objects, and the target for particles burned within a gun. This both helps recreate the scene and identifies those who have recently shot a gun (Rankin). Due to increases in gun violence, research has advanced so that, through the use of databases, the unique markings from spent ammunition can be tracked to a single firearm and identify the shooter.
To understand the process of firearm investigations, it is important to understand the mechanics of firing a gun. The most generic gun “aims to convert chemical energy into kinetic energy in order to expel a projectile from the firearm.”
The case that was researched is the case of the people vs. Robert Blake. In this case it is stated that the husband Robert Blake murdered his wife Bonnie Bakley. It was determined that Mr.Blake fired shots from a world war 2 vintage 9mm Walther P38 Luger pistol. The weapon was found in a dumpster near where Mr. Blake parked his car and was covered with dirt and motor oil. The 9mm pistol was cleaned and tested fired. And the gun was fired to see if it would leave gunshot residue behind after being fired.
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.
I would start by collecting the suicide note and have the lab examine it for any fingerprints or any other DNA. Also I would have a handwriting analyst examine the writing on the note compared to the history of the victim’s day-to-day handwriting. Then I would start to examine the body. I would look at enter and exit wounds from the bullet to see it they are in a line that would make sense of a suicide. I would check the firearm for fingerprints and do a ballistics test on the bullet to make sure it came from that specific gun. Also I would check the body for any kind of physical bruising or wounds that would suggest a struggle.
While analyzing this evidence, several units in the crime laboratory will be used like: the document unit, firearms unit, latent fingerprint unit, and biology unit. The document unit will be used for the note found on the crime scene that the victim wrote, it could be analyzed to see if it was legitimately the victims writing or if someone else wrote the note to cover up the murder and make it look like a suicide. The firearms unit will help figure out if that was the murder/suicide weapon. The latent fingerprint unit will try to find a match on the faint fingerprints found on the revolver, whether they belong to the victim, the owner of the gun, or someone else who shot the gun itself. If they cannot find a match they will try to reconstruct the fingerprints to possibly find a close match.
Forensic science is a key aspect of Criminal Justice that helps rid the streets of lunatics and murderers. One of the most important fields of forensic science is blood spatter analysis. Under the Crime Scene Investigation, analysts gather the information that could eventually lead to a victim’s killer. Basic and complex information can be found when analyzing blood. We can learn what kind of weapon was used, the time of death of a victim and other important facts that can help a case. The pattern that the blood gives off give forensic scientists the tools that they need to help solve cases.
An odontologist examined the teeth to try and identify the body but attempts were unsuccessful. While results of the gun were sent to a ballistics expert, perhaps they should have been present at 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.
A major hazard confronting any police officer is the possibility of being involved in a traumatic or critical incident (Lenard and Alison, 1999). A diagram is an important key element after a shooting. A shooting scene reconstructionist will need police reports and crime scene evidence, and eyewitness testimony. One of the most crucial aspects of a crime scene where one or more officers have used a gun on a suspect is the diagram that shows where officers, other participants and various objects ( i. e., cars, buildings, terrain) were positioned during the incident, as well as bullet trajectories
When a firearm is discharged multiple forms of trace evidence are created. Comparative ballistic techniques can link the projectile to the weapon. Microstamping can link a spent bullet casing to the weapon that discharged it. Traces of gunshot residue (GSR) can be used to link a suspect to a discharged weapon. Utilizing similar methods of microscopy that are applied to analyzing other items of trace evidence such as hairs, fibers, and illegal substances, the scanning electron microscope is currently being utilized to detect and identify gunshot residue.
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.
A segment of the Forensic Science in the Criminal equity organization that the vast majority acquainted with these days, however, few individuals know how this particular science came to be. Overall, legal science is intended to utilize experimental standards to clarify obscure parts of a wrongdoing. Through the utilization of uncommon tests and lab gear that permits researchers to recognize decisively different parts of a bit of confirmation in an illegal behavior. On the off chance that you occupied with finding out about how this procedure came to fruition, you have to peruse the recorded data underneath. Here is a brief history
The most common way for these objects to be analyzed is by using a microscope. A microscope provides investigators the ability to see microscopic indentations that could match bullets, shell casings, or other objects that may have been involved in a crime. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Gunshot Residues are a critical and an important trace evidence used in a criminal investigation. Recovering and analyzing GSR evidence is carried out in order to link an individual to a certain firearm. Finding GSR on a person’s hand does not necessarily mean that he/she is the one that fired the weapon. At the same time not finding any GSR particles does not prove that that person was not the shooter. Gunshot Residues can easily be transferred to various surfaces not only by being in contact with a firearm, but also shaking a hand with a person that has handled a weapon or any other ammunition charged components. The formation of the GSR is due to the rapid cooling of the discharge gasses and solid matter, originating from partially reacted components of the primer and propellant, as well as the metallic composition of the firearm and ammunition. The residues can be easily deposited onto the hand of the shooter and later transferred to other parts of the body such as the skin, clothing and hair. Information taken from various reports and analysis throughout the years show us that GSR are deposited on the skin (hand) immediately after the firing. The highest chance of detecting a significantly good amount of residues is within the 1st hour of the incident. In practice after 6hours GSR cannot be expected from a living person. There are many reports on how Gunshot residues react with the skin, hands, clothes, as well as how to remove them. The important question is what
On March 3, 2016, the class had a firearm inspection. The class was lined up and had their firearm pointed towards the creek. Every recruit had their firearm inspected by a recruit training officer. If a small amount of dirt was found in the firearm, the weapon was confiscated. By the end of the inspection, about a dozen recruits had their firearm taken away from them. I was included in this dozen because I failed to properly clean my firearm.
The different types of specialists there are different types of specialists in forensic science like a ballistics specialists that specializes in firearms and things like that. Other types of specialists are like forensic anthropology that deals with bones and skulls. There is basically a different type of forensic scientists for every type of crime that there is. Ballistic specialists deal with firearms and they deal with collecting and analyzing firearms and ammunition. Some different types of things they’d deal with that have to deal with firearms and ammunition are like studying marks left on ammunition. Ballistic specialists have to have education is firearms and ammunition. Ballistic experts need at least a bachelor’s in forensic science. Some of the core requirements are