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Abstract:
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If guns transfer markings to bullets and cartridges, it might be possible to build a database for guns that is similar to the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System maintained by the FBI. Assuming guns do transfer markings, are there enough gun-to-gun differences to make it possible to distinguish individual guns? On the other hand, is there sufficiently little shot-to-shot variation within a single gun to be certain of the identity of that gun from the markings? These are but a few of the questions raised in a recent project conducted by the National Academies, titled "Assessing the Feasibility, Accuracy, and Technical Capability of a National Ballistics Database." This talk will describe the problem in more detail, discuss current systems used for firearm identification, and review the conclusions of the study.
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