EVIDENTIARY VALUE OF FIREARM

Firearms are integral to criminal investigations globally as ballistic analysis, residue tests and gun registration provide vital evidence. Forensic firearms examination involves studying firearm and bullet characteristics to establish links between individuals, weapons or crime scenes. Firearms serve as evidence in various crime scenes and help identify suspects, establish connections between crimes, and expose illicit networks. To recover fingerprints and restore serial numbers, forensic examination of firearms is conducted. Hidden prints can be revealed through super glue fuming while magnetic particle inspection together with chemical restoration can also bring back destroyed serial numbers. Serial number recovery is very important in tracing the history and ownership of a gun. Bullet examination investigates such class characteristics as surface attributes, diameter and rifling twist in order to aid identification of potential weapons. Individual characteristic are established through comparing known and questioned specimens using a comparison microscope. Firearms registration and ownership records assist law enforcement by holding these owners accountable for their guns and tracking their movements.
However, there are challenges to this type of evidence which include use of illegal guns, modifications that erase off serial numbers; controversies with ballistics analysis etc. This therefore implies that addressing these challenges will require constant research into forensic techniques aimed at improving them.