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Ballistic Fingerprinting (October 25, 2002, Two)

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Program Summary

One of the technologies used to help catch the Washington area sniper was ballistic fingerprinting. Because every gun places unique markings on bullets and bullet casings when fired, the markings can be analyzed to determine the gun that fired them. Proponents of the method say that it helps link crimes together, as in the sniper case, and has even helped match seized weapons to other crimes. But the technology has its critics who claim that the method is flawed because weapons and ammunition can be tampered with, rendering the technology useless.

Guests

Related Links and Resources

BusinessWeek Online: October 24, 2002, “Ballistics Fingerprinting: A Lifesaver”

BusinessWeek Online: October 24, 2002, “Ballistics Fingerprinting: A Waste of Time”

National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBN)

For Discussion:

• What is ballistics? How does ballistic fingerprinting work?
• Why is the technology called “fingerprinting” even though fingerprints have nothing to do with the process?
• What are some arguments against ballistic fingerprinting?
• Is ballistic fingerprinting a useful crime-solving tool?

Activities

Get tubular. Help students understand how ballistic fingerprinting works by setting up a simple experiment for them to carry out. You’ll need three toilet paper tubes, yarn, glue, white paper, scissors, tape, dark-colored wide-tip marker. Dip lengths of yarn into glue, squeezing off any excess. Glue yarn inside the toilet paper tubes in different patterns. For example, one could spiral around the inside, another could have two or three yarns stripes, a third a single stripe. Let the glue dry. Roll up paper tubes that are about the same length as the toilet paper tubes but slightly smaller in diameter and tape them together. The rolled-up tubes need to fit snugly inside the toilet paper tubes and touch the yarn but not be so tight as to get stuck. After the glue dries, use a wide-tip marker to “color” the yarn inside each of the tubes. Be sure to get plenty of color on the yarn. Insert a rolled-up paper tube inside each toilet paper tube and carefully push it all the way through. Try not to twist the paper tubes as you push them through. Examine the marks left by the marker and compare them to the yarn patterns inside the tubes. Explain that the yarn represents microscopic markings that are present in guns. It is these types of markings and others that experts use to match guns with bullets found at crime scenes.

The game’s afoot! Use students’ favorite mystery stories as the basis of critical thinking, writing, math, and science activities. “Learning with Mysteries” on MysteryNet.com provides lesson plans and links appropriate for grades 4 and up. MysteryNet’s Kids Mysteries also offers mysteries both long and short to read and solve and features mysteries written by students.

Look at both sides. Ballistic fingerprinting is a controversial technology. Help students understand the controversy by having them read and discuss articles addressing both sides of the issue. “Ballistics Fingerprinting: A Lifesaver” and “Ballistics Fingerprinting: A Waste of Time” appeared in BusinessWeek online. After reading the articles, ask students to list the pros and cons of the technology as pointed out in the articles. What other issues besides whether the technology works might affect the writers’ opinions? After discussing the issue, ask students to vote on whether they think ballistic fingerprinting is a valid crime-solving tool.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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