Ballistic Fingerprinting
Posted on April 7, 2008
Ballistic fingerprints are the identifying marks made on the bullets and cartridge casings when a gun is fired. They are as unique as human fingerprints as no two firearms leave the same marks. These marks can be reproduced, meaning that an identical mark is made every time the same gun is fired. Due to the uniqueness and reproducible quality of ballistic fingerprints, solving gun crimes becomes a lot easier as rapid identification of the specific crime weapon used is possible.
The technology that matches bullets to firearms is known as ballistic fingerprinting. It works to provide police with relevant crime leads but needs a comprehensive database of ballistic fingerprints of every gun before it is sold to determine which specific gun (manufacturer, model, serial number) the bullets were fired from.
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