CrimePsych

Firearms identification, more commonly referred to as forensic ballistics, has been around in some form or another since as early as 1835 when, in England, investigators were able to match the markings on a bullet taken from a victim’s body to the bullet mold owned by the suspect. Obviously this was back in the days before traditional rounds were invented, that is, when ball rounds were the type of ammunition available. As was to be expected, the murderer in this particular case confessed to the crime when confronted with the evidence.

But what is forensic ballistics exactly? What is included in this field?

First off, a definition; Firearms identification (forensic ballistics) is defined as “The identification of fired bullets, cartridge cases or other ammunition components as having been fired from a specific firearm.”
Technically the field of forensic ballistics falls inside toolmark identification, as the gun used, being of a harder substance than the bullets being fired from it, leaves its own unique markings on each round as it exits the barrel – just like a pickaxe when swung with force leaves markings on the stone it collides with.
In addition to the well known facets that a firearm examiner undertakes in their daily activities (comparing rounds recovered from victim’s bodies to rounds test fired in a lab) they are also responsible for:

1. Testing of firearms, making sure they function correctly.
2. Examining garments of clothing and other items for gunpowder residue and shot patterns in an attempt to establish the distance from the victim of the attacker.
3. Determining the manufacturer and the calibre of ammunition components including standard rifle or handgun rounds as well as shotgun/shell ammunition.
4. Determine what model or manufacturers weapon has fired a particular round or shell.

Further to these analyses firearms examiners are required to give written reports detailing their findings as well as give expert testimony in criminal proceedings.

In time, we plan to discuss the science of toolmark identification with a main focus on forensic ballistics as well as add additional educational resources and information on how to get into this field.