- 01: Introduction
- 02: History of Firearms Identification
- 03: Powder, Ammunition, and Firearm Development
- 04: Manufacture of Firearms
- 05: Small Arms Ammunition
- 06: Handling Procedures
- 07: Equipment and Instrumentation
- 08: Examination of Firearms
- 09: Cartridge and Shotshell Examination
- 10: Characterization and Evaluation of Fired Projectiles
- 11: Bullet Comparison and Identification
- 12: Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination
- 13: Toolmark Identification
- 14: Communicating Results
Firearms
Home > Evidence Handling Procedures > Collection, Preservation, and Documentation > Best Practices: Firearms - Related Evidence > Firearms
Firearms collected during a crime scene search should be unloaded and placed in a safe condition. If the investigator or crime scene technician has any doubt as to the procedure for unloading a firearm and making it safe, assistance should be requested from a competent source. (Link to Examination of Firearms module) This source may be a firearms instructor, departmental armorer, or an on-site firearms examiner. Unloaded ammunition should be packaged separately, marked, and identified as to the firearm from which it was removed.
Courtesy - Arrowhead Forensic
The firearm should be identified with at least a string tag bearing the information required by an agency's crime scene search protocols. Some agency protocols mandate the direct marking of evidence items. In these situations, the firearm should be marked inconspicuously. One method is to scribe their initials and any other required information within the trigger guard of the firearm. A diamond or tungsten-tipped machinist's scribing tool is useful for this purpose and should be a part of all crime scene kits.
During collection and processing at a crime scene, firearms should be sealed in unused wrapping paper and placed in a cardboard box designed for the particular type of firearm (handgun or long arm). These precautions reflect the growing consciousness on the part of investigators, crime scene technicians, laboratory examiners, prosecutors, and jurors in regard to the possible introduction of spurious sources represented by trace evidence of all types. Trace evidence is addressed subsequently.
