Examination of Firearms Review: 2007 to 2010 - Interpol

� Maryland v. Monti M. Fleming, Criminal Case #06-46624, February 13,
2008, Circuit Court of Howard County (Judge Louis A. Becker)
2.2 Firearms & ammunition miscellaneous reports
2.2.1 Firearms
Thomas Warlow has written an extensive manuscript on the criminal use of
improvised and re-activated firearms in Great Britain and Northern Ireland (57). It
shows that after introduction of a firearm ban, criminals find other ways to import
firearms and distribute them on the market. The converted and re-activated
firearms show very distinct markings although some of them have smooth bores,
resulting in the recovery of unrifled bullets at the crime scene. As time went by,
the re-activation techniques became more and more professional.
Hannam publishes on the firearm trends in England & Wales (58). The
information was obtained from the National Firearms Forensic Intelligence
Database (NFFID) and covers the time period 2003-2008. It was concluded that
21% of the annual submissions, were converted weapons. The makes, models
and modes of conversion of these weapons are described in detail. Yilmaz et al.
report on handmade guns in Trabzon, Turkey (59). Although very similar in look
to commercially available weapons, these guns are constructed from cheap
materials and are not safe for firing.
Sarıbay, Hannam and Tarımcı investigated the legal status of modified shotguns
in Turkey (60). Over the period 2006 to 2008 11% of all seized shotguns were
converted. According to Turkish law these are either considered as a pistol or as
a nonstandard shotgun.
2.2.2 Ammunition
Bailey has developed a classification system and identification key for .177
calibre pellets (61), based on a five-class characteristics criterion: pellet head
shape, skirt type, pellet length, weight, markings and other observations. This is
not an absolute pellet identification system; however, it provides possible product
identification of some pellets for the investigator. Also, the system can eliminate
numerous pellet brands.
2.2.3 Recovery of obliterated serial numbers
It can be a challenge to recover laser engraved serial numbers that have been
obliterated. This is true because the underlying principle is different from a
stamped serial number. Da Silva and dos Santos (62) present a case report on
an aluminium alloy pistol. The trick is to polish carefully and slowly and to capture
subsequent images with a camera. One of the major drawbacks of this method is
that it is time consuming. Klees looked into the possibility of using SEM and X-
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