Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2013 | Page 48

FORENSICS JOURNAL

Microstamping: The Last Frontier in Firearm
Identification
Rochel Benjamin
For the past one hundred years, law enforcement and expert forensic
investigators have relied on various forms of firearm identification to
assist in convicting gun crime suspects. Intentional Firearm Microstamping or microstamping is a breakthrough technology with the
potential to dramatically alter the firearm identification landscape.
Microstamping empowers police with the heretofore unattainable
capacity to identify a firearm using only a single cartridge case.
This paper will explore the origins and implications of the microstamping method, how it compares with existing methods of firearm
identification, and the feasibility of administering such a vast retooling of the firearm industry. Additionally, this paper will weigh the
benefits of microstamping against its costs, and determine whether it
should be pursued in its current form, modified, or abandoned. Ultimately, this paper will argue that microstamping should be pursued in
its current form with one caveat; more testing must be conducted to
ensure its viability on a national scale.

FIGURE 1: Gear Code surrounding Alphanumeric Code
(Howitt, Tulleners, and Beddow, 17)

Engineers Todd E. Lizotte and Orest Ohar of ID Dynamics, LLC
invented microstamping in the 1990’s to offer law enforcement a
more effective means of providing both trace evidence in gun crimes
and more information for targeting firearm trafficking. For over fourteen years they labored diligently in their Londonderry, New Hampshire laboratory to develop a method that would improve firearm
identification and resolve the problems with existing methods. Rather
than rely on the comparison of unintentional, incidental tool marks
found on cartridge casings and firearms, Lizotte and Ohar explored
a code system that could be intentionally stamped on each cartridge
case when fired. This code would be instantly traceable, similar to a
serial number, and provide police with an immediate identification of
the firearm (Lizotte and Ohar, “Forensic,” 2).

FIGURE 2: Firing pin tip with microstamp installed
Lizotte and Ohar, “Forensic,” 5)
If a cartridge case found at a crime scene revealed a completely illegible alphanumeric code, the evidence trail is not lost because the gear
code can still provide identification of a firearm’s serial number, make,
and model (Lizotte and Ohar, “Forensic,” 12). Furthermore, if the
alphanumeric code can be partially recovered, even if the gear code
fails as a backup, law enforcement still has more information than
they would have had without microstamping. The legible digits provide some information on caliber, type, make or model (Lizotte and
Ohar, “Forensic,” 14). Consequently, this information together with
traditional firearm identification methods greatly reduces the number
of possible firearm matches so that pinpointing the exact weapon is
simpler.

Lizotte and Ohar settled on an “optimized laser micromachining”
process to engrave each firearm with two unique codes representing its
serial number, make, and model, as seen in Figure 1. The primary or
alphanumeric code is composed of a combination of eight letters and
numbers, and is engraved on the firing pin tip, such that the digits
are raised (Figure 2). When the gun is fired, the firing pin tip stamps
the code on the center of the cartridge case primer. The primer is
well suited to stamping because it is a softer metal than the firing pin
tip. The second code is the gear code. It employs unique geometric
designs and is engraved on the round shaft of the firing pin. When
the gun is fired, this shaft stamps the gear code on the cartridge case
around the alphanumeric code. The gear code serves as a backup in
case the firing pin tip fails to clearly stamp the alphanumeric code
(Lizotte and Ohar, “Forensic,” 3.)

Both the previous examples – an alphanumeric code being either
completely or partially illegible and the gear code failing as a backup
– may frustrate the utility of microstamping, but only if a single
cartridge case is retrieved from a crime scene. Most of the time, there
are multiple cartridge cases found at a crime scene (Lizotte and Ohar,
“Extracting,” 26). Consequently, while a microstamp may be illegible on one cartridge case, by analyzing both the alphanumeric and
gear codes on each cartridge case retrieved from the crime scene, and
combining the results, it is more likely that a complete code will be
identified.
The codes must be customized for each type of firearm’s unique firing
mechanism. Size of the code digits and distance between each figure
must be adjusted depending on material, size, and angles of the sur47