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A Reflection Paper in MSCJ 207

(Firearms, Tool Marks & Other Impressions And Matter,

Light, and Glass Examination

Submitted by: Ms. Jerine A. Pueblo, RCrim

Submitted to: Prof. German B. Guaza, PhD.Crim

Date of Submission: Nov. 6, 2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Pages

Title Page 1

Table of Contents 2

Introduction 3

Body Paragraph 4-7

Conclusion 8
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Introduction

This paper is the reflection of my insights on the topic on chapter 9 and 10

which is the Firearms, tool marks and other impressions reported by Sir Donque

Sir Opalla and Maam Guaza respectively. To begin with, firearms ballistic,

matter, light and glass examination are significant in criminal investigations. Also,

the information gathered during firearms identification and glass examination can

be used to help with investigations and prosecutions.

This paper emphasized that the Firearms identification examines and

compares bullets, cartridge cases, and shotgun shells to see if they were fired

from a specific firearm. Also various search systems developed by the FBI and

ATF, the procedure for determining how far a weapon was fired from a target,

identify the laboratory tests for determining whether an individual has fired a

weapon, how serial numbers in firearms can be restored, and more .It will also

include the forensic significance of class and individual characteristics in the

comparison of tool mark, footwear, and tire impressions, the preservation, lifting,

casting, and comparison of impressions left at a crime scene.

Furthermore, forthcoming chapters will be anchored to discussions of how

the density and refractive index of glass are measured and used for forensic

characterization, explain the nature of light as a wave and as a particle, explain

forensic methods for comparing glass fragments, and explain how glass fractures

reveal information about the origin of the glass, and description of proper glass

evidence collection, including the power and direction of an impact

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Body Paragraph

Firearms, Tool Marks & Other Impressions

In Chapter 9 discussion it was emphasized that the science of firearms

identification must include more than just bullet comparisons because the

shooting cases are so common. It must also include knowledge of how all types

of weapons work, the restoration of obliterated serial numbers on weapons, the

detection and characterization of gunpowder residues on garments and around

wounds, estimation of muzzle-to-target distances, and the detection of powder

residues on hands.

Rifling is the technique of imprinting spiral grooves on the inside

surface of a barrel. The lands are the surfaces of the original bore that remain

between the grooves. Even though they were made at the same time, no two

rifled barrels have the identical striation patterns. The barrel's distinctive features

are defined by these striations. Striation patterns are created as a bullet passes

through the inside surface of a rifle barrel.

The amount of lands and grooves, as well as their twisting orientation,

are obvious points of comparison during the early stages of a research. Any

discrepancies in these characteristics rule out the possibility that two bullets were

fired from the same barrel. The comparison microscope is the most important

instrument for a weapons examination.

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Two bullets can be observed and compared at the same time in the

same field of vision. The test and evidence bullets must not only have the same

width lands and grooves, but they must also have the identical longitudinal

striations. The firing pin, breechface, ejector, and extractor mechanisms all have

distinct signatures that may be utilized to distinguish cartridge casings.

With the advancement of digital imaging technology, bullet and

cartridge surface characteristics may now be saved in a manner similar to

automated fingerprint files. The forensic expert, on the other hand, will use

traditional microscopic processes to make the final comparison.

The distance from which a handgun or rifle was fired may be

determined using the distribution of gunpowder particles and other discharge

byproducts surrounding a bullet hole. When a weapon is shot, it not only propels

leftovers towards the target, but it also propels gunpowder and primer residues

back towards the shooter.

The criminalist is increasingly being asked to retrieve a serial number

that has been rifled, punched, or ground away. Because the metal crystals in the

stamped zone are exposed to a sustained strain that extends a short distance

under the original digits, chemical etching allows for the restoration of serial

numbers. A tool mark is any depression, cut, gouge, or abrasion caused by a tool

coming into contact with another thing. As a consequence, even slight defects in

a tool contribute to its individuality.

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Finally, a sufficient number of comparison points or the uniqueness of

such points supports the conclusion that the questioned and test perceptions

came from the same source.

Matter, Light, and Glass Examination

Matter, Light, and Glass Examination was comprehensively discussed in

Chapter 10. The forensic scientist is considered to be constantly determining the

characteristics that provide matter with different properties, giving it a particular

identity. Weight, volume, color, boiling temperature, and melting point are

physical characteristics that distinguish one substance from another. A chemical

property also describes how a substance behaves when it interacts or combines

with another substance. Scientists all throughout the globe utilize the metric

system of measurement.

The meter, gram, and liter are the three fundamental units of measurement

for length, mass, and volume in the metric system. The quantity of heat

contained in a substance is measured in temperature, which is a unit of

measurement for heat intensity. In science, the Celsius scale is the most often

used temperature scale. The freezing point and boiling point of water are used to

produce this scale.

A forensic scientist evaluates glass shards based on density and

refractive index, two important physical parameters. Density is defined as the

mass per unit volume. The refractive index is defined as the ratio of light velocity

in a vacuum to light velocity in the medium under discussion.

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Crystalline solids exhibit distinct geometric characteristics due to the

orderly arrangement of their atoms. A light beam is refracted into two different

light-ray components by these substances. Double refraction occurs as a result

of this. Birefringence is the numerical difference between these two refractive

indices. Not all solids in nature are crystalline. Glass, for example, is a

noncrystalline or amorphous material with a random arrangement of atoms.

The splitting of light into its constituent colours is known as dispersion.

Each component bends or refracts at a different angle as it passes through a

prism. The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses a wide range of

electromagnetic waves. Two basic theories describe how light behaves. Light is

shown as a continuous wave in the first model, and as a stream of energy

particles in the second.

The best methods for assessing the density and refractive index of a glass

fragment are flotation and immersion, respectively. In the flotation process, a

glass particle is immersed in a liquid. The density of the liquid medium is carefully

controlled by adding small amounts of a suitable liquid until the glass chip stays

suspended in it. At this point, the glass will have the same density as the liquid

medium and may be compared to other similar pieces of glass. Immersing a

glass particle in a liquid medium with a changing refractive index until it equals

the refractive index of the glass particle is the immersion method.

Finally, by examining the radial and concentric fracture patterns in glass,

the forensic scientist may determine the direction of impact. Radial fractures
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generate a Right angle on the Reverse side of the force, which may be achieved

using the 3R rule. These are all useful in the study of evidence in order to

establish facts that may be utilized in court: firearms, tool marks, and other

impressions, and matter, light, and glass examination.

Conclusion

In this topic, I conclude that firearms, Tool Marks, and Other Impressions,

Matter, Light, and Glass Examination might yield a range of evidence at a crime

scene. These evidence in the crime scenes can include but are not limited to,

any location where a victim has been injured by a firearm, a firearm has been

unlawfully discharged, and firearm linked to a crime is located, and so on.

I also learned that the firearm and other tool marks identification is an

important aspect of the firearm investigation. Every weapon has its own features,

similar to fingerprints. The examiner can identify the firearm used in the incident,

determine if two or more rounds were fired with the same firearm, and relate the

handgun to subsequent crimes by comparing these distinct marks. Moreover,

Glass fracture pattern analysis, matter and light examination are particularly

effective for establishing the chronology of events and connecting pieces of

evidence, and it is especially important in situations involving firearms.

Therefore, firearm identification is a fundamental stage in any crime

investigations because it offers the key components for the unique identification
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and tracking of the firearm. Aside from this, light examination, glass, tool marks

and other type of evidence can be used to connect a suspect to a crime or to

establish that he or she was not engaged in it. This is also significant to the

investigators as they can aids them in solving crime.