WAR ON CRIME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21561, 4 August 1933, Page 9

WAR ON CRIME

' TRACING OF FIREARMS IDENTIFICATION BY BULLETS The Criminal Investigation Branch in New South Wales has decided to have' every revolver and pistol in the State examined. The markings of bullets fired from these firearms will be recorded at headquarters in Sydney so that when-* ever a shooting occurs the firearm re« sponsible can be traced within a few; hours of the recovery of the bullet, .This will be one of the moves in au elaborate scheme which high policd officials have evolved to prevent the indiscriminate use of firearms. It has been decided to take action' because of the increasing tendency for criminals to carry firearms and to U6O them. Every effort will be made to prevent revolvers and pistols falling into the hands of criminals, and existing holders of licences will have to prove their need of weapons. The aid of scientists has been enlisted and delicate apparatus will be used to photograph bullets and record every scratch oij Bmall marking on their surface*. Experts in ballistics have established that bullets fired from one weapon can be distinguished with certainty from those fired by any other firearm by, microscopic marks on the surface ofi the bullet. The surface of even polished metals, uuder a powerful microscope, become a mass of small pits and elevaJ tions. A remarkable instrument has been: added to the apparatus at detectivo i headquarters. It is an arrangement o£ j two microscopes, which enables thO examination of two bullets simultan* eously on the same microscopic fields Small chucks allow the operator to turn the bullets to any angle. "When thel bullets have been arranged and brought) into focus, a camera fitted above the* microscopes allows a permanent record of them to be made. As means permit, all firearms will bo called in by the police. Before they arei reissued to their owners several shots will be fired from them into a trough of water. The bullet will not bo damaged, and photographs of the markings on it will be taken. It is hoped that eventually there will be a record of every firearm for which a permit has been issued in the State. The marks on the photographs will enable the bullets to be indexed under types. When a bullet fired by a criminal is recovered, the police will be able to ascertain the owner of the firearm. Detectives will thus be saved weeks of useless work. The problem of tracing thieves who have stolen firearms will not be overcome, but the speedy discovery 61 where the firearms were taken from and the circumstances in which they were stolen will jpaterially aid the police in their investigations.