Criminal forensics

A new reference standard developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology will make it easier for law enforcement agencies to link cartridge cases found at crime scenes to specific firearms. Cartridge cases are routinely sent to forensic laboratories for analysis. A special microscope acquires digital images of three markings—or “signatures”—impressed on the cartridge case by the gun that fired it. The markings can serve as “fingerprints” once the data is entered into the national database known as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.