<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3iM4oF_1FMM2eHI00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3iM4oF_1FMM2eHI00" width="400" height="225" >How does the 3D digital microscope enhance bullet comparison?MISSOULA, Mont. — Sunday officially kicked off National Forensic Science Week.It runs through Saturday, Sept. 26.Montana's Forensic Science Division has facilities in both Missoula and Billings, but some of the labs only exist in Missoula.We recently got a tour of the Missoula facility and checked out several of the labs to better understand the work being done and the science behind it.All week, we'll show you insight from a different lab.This morning, we visit the firearms and toolmarks section.“Things collected at crime scenes or from autopsy — from shootings, whether it’s walls, individuals, things like that — will be submitted, and then the possible weapons that were involved," Lancon said. The lab examines each submitted firearm to see whether it functions properly or has been altered.Then, examiners test-fire the possible weapon and compare those bullets and cartridge cases with what was found at a crime scene.“Within the firearms, those are individual to particular firearms that are imparted on those fired items of evidence. So then we’ll do some microscopic work after we shoot some guns," Lancon said. The traditional comparison microscope remains a key part of the work.But the lab now also has a three-dimensional digital microscope — capturing more detailed images of the markings left behind when a firearm is fired.“We like to call it kind of like it looks like a barcode. But within those striations, and kind of how they stop, start, all of that is individual to a particular firearm," Lancon said. Examiners look at those striations — or lines — to determine whether a bullet or cartridge case could have come from a particular gun.The new system doesn’t replace the science. But it gives examiners a new way to capture, store and search those images.“Now we’re taking a digital image of the same stuff we were looking at on the other microscope, but it is then being uploaded into a database," Lancon said. That database can help make connections between cases — including cases from different counties — that investigators may not have known were related.“Law enforcement might not even have an idea that these are connected, but because of the database, which we’ve actually had some that have done that, we’ll link these two possible crimes that may not have been," Lancon said. But before examiners can compare a test-fired bullet, they have to recover it.And that leads to one of the more unusual-looking parts of the lab — a 500-gallon water tank.“What this does is it allows us to collect the fired bullets from the firearms that are submitted. This will actually slow down most bullets, even your high-powered rifle bullets," Lancon said. The water stops the bullet so examiners can recover it — while preserving the marks they need for their comparison.Lancon says it may not look like much from the top, but the tank helps the lab avoid having to search for a bullet downrange.“So we’re able to do that. It will impact the bullet sometimes — it will fragment or mushroom — but based on what we’re looking at for our comparisons, it’s not going to be affected," Lancon said. The lab also uses an indoor range when it needs cartridge cases or when examiners are working to determine how far a gun was from a person or object when it was fired.“We will get pictures from autopsy or victims’ clothing, and the firearm and ammunition, to determine how far the firearm was at the time of discharge," Lancon said. For Lancon, the work is about providing the most accurate information possible — information that can help law enforcement, the courts and the community make sense of a case.“I absolutely love my day job and being able to come in with something new and still be able to assist law enforcement, assist the community and assist the justice system in providing accurate information that can then be used in court to make the tough decisions.”</div></body>

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MISSOULA, Mont. — Sunday officially kicked off National Forensic Science Week. It runs through Saturday, Sept. 26. Montana's Forensic Science Division has facilities in both Missoula and Billings, but some of the labs only exist in Missoula. We recently got a tour of the Missoula facility and checked out...

Inside the Montana State Crime Lab: Firearms and toolmarks

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MISSOULA, Mont. — Sunday officially kicked off National Forensic Science Week. It runs through Saturday, Sept. 26. Montana's Forensic Science Division has 

Inside the Montana State Crime Lab: Firearms and toolmarks

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