ANALYZING BALLISTIC EVIDENCE, On-Scene by the Investigator

This book explains how to understand and interpret ballistic evidence at a crime scene and better understand what type of weapon fired it. Included are over fifty black and white photographs of firearm evidence to help the reader understand the author's points. The book is intertwined with case examples to support the application of these investigative techniques. Here are some of the areas covered: •How to compare a fired casing to a "known" casing to determine if the same firearm fired both cartridges using a $3 eye loupe. •Analyzing firing pin primer strikes and comparison with potential parent firearm. •The significance of rifling characteristics of spent bullets. •What to look for when examining a fired bullet's construction properties and comparison with unfired bullets possessed by potential suspects. •How to compare a spent bullet's rifling characteristics to a suspected parent firearm barrel using Silly Putty. •The significance of bullet wound tracks and trajectories and how they can be used as evidence for reconstructive purposes. •Characteristics of bullet exit and entrance wounds. •How firearm evidence databases can help an investigation and where to access. This manual is written from the experience of a retired wildlife criminal investigator who dealt with thousands of crimes involving firearms evidence. Officers using these techniques will increase their case closures by understanding the significance of the evidence in a timely fashion–well before it's analyzed at the forensic lab. It's also a great source for the crime writer.