FIREARMS/TOOLMARKS SECTION

The Firearms/Toolmarks is the section of the Laboratory that analyzes firearms, fired cartridge cases, and fired bullets. By test firing the weapon and recovering the known fired bullets and cartridge cases, a comparison can be made with the evidence a the crime scene. This comparison is performed with the aid of a microscope containing an optical bridge. This allows the examiner to view unique microscopic imperfections placed on the evidence and test fires by the firearm that fired them. The examiner often can identify the specific firearm used in a homicide or other shooting crime. This knowledge is often crucial in a court of law.

A lessor known area of analysis is the comparison of toolmarks left at a crime scene with the tool that made them. Example:A pair of bolt cutters used to cut a lock at the scene of a crime will often leave microscopic striations, that can later be used to identify the suspect's bolt cutters. Screwdrivers, saws, pliers, hammers and the like, all can leave unique marks on surfaces at crime scenes.

The Firearms Section has a computerized digital imaging system that allows firearm evidence to be compared on screen, stored and printed.

Firearms/Toolmarks manages the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network or NIBIN. NIBIN allows nationwide comparisons of fired cartridge cases from other crime scenes where cartridge cases were fired. A firearm used in a shooting crime in West Virginia may also have been used in a similar fashion in another area. This new technology allows for a computerized search of data to possibly link serial shooting cases that may have never been linked before. Nationwide, this system has already linked thousands of serial shooting cases, many of which would not have been had it not been for NIBIN.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Educational requirements for a position in the Firearms/Toolmarks Section is a Bachelor of Science Degree in the Natural Sciences.