The use of firearm evidence in the investigation of murder (original) (raw)

An Analysis of Firearms-Related Deaths Between 1993-2010: A Retrospective Study

Turkish Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, 2013

BACKGROUND: Firearm injuries (FI) are the most common cause of death among military personnel. In this study, postmortem examination and autopsy records of deaths resulting from firearm injuries recorded in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Gulhane Military Medical Academy between 1993-2010 were examined retrospectively. METHODS: We evaluated the characteristics of 153 firearm deaths accounting for 36.6% of all medical-legal autopsies. The cases included 152 men (99.3%) and 1 woman (0.7%). RESULTS: The mean age of the cases was 23.1 years (±4.7; range, 20-43 years). The manner of death was determined in all cases with 41.8% of cases identified as suicide and 39.9% as homicide. The most common sites of firearm entrance wounds were the head and neck region (n=109, 71.2%), the chest (n=26, 17%), or the abdomen (n=14, 9.2%). The type of firearm was not clear in most cases. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, complete forensic and medical records will facilitate the rapid and accurate conclusion of the legal process and will enhance future retrospective studies.

Audit of Firearm Autopsy Cases in District Sahiwal

Annals of Punjab Medical College, 2017

Background: Firearm injuries are the major problem that severely affects the victims, their families, health care delivery as well as criminal justice system. Firearm fatalities are more common in rural areas of the developing countries like Pakistan. Easy availability of the guns has drastically enhanced the incidence of firearm related deaths. Many studies on fatal firearm injuries have been published but their pattern and targeted areas usually remain underreported. Objective: To explore the pattern of fatal firearm injuries and their distribution over the body areas; and to know the demographic profile of those victims autopsied in District Sahiwal, during year 2016. Study design: Descriptive Study. Setting and Duration: The study was conducted by examining the autopsy record of three hospitals in Sahiwal District i.e. District Headquarter (DHQ) Teaching Hospital Sahiwal, Haji Abdul Qayum Hospital Sahiwal and Tehsil Headquarter Hospital (THQ) Chichawatni during the calendar year 2016. Methodology: The data was collected from the record of all autopsy cases conducted at above mentioned three hospitals during the study period. The cases of firearm related deaths were segregated and studied in detail. The variables were age, gender, residential background of the victims and body areas involved. The dead bodies having injuries other than firearms were not included. Results: During the calendar year 2016, total 178 cases were brought for autopsy whereas 73 were the victims of firearms. The data collected, entered on the Performa and analyzed which showed that 60.3% victims of firearms were between 20-39 years of age. Male to female ratio was 2.5:1. The chest was the most affected body region in (41.1%) cases followed by abdomen and pelvis (37%), head (35.6%) and extremities were involved in (26%) victims. As regards residential background of the victims; 78.1% cases belonged to the rural areas and 15.1% were living in urban area. Conclusion: Most of the victims targeted by firearm were young males from rural community and injuries over the chest were the leading cause of death. Therefore, there is dire need to tighten the legislation regarding use of firearms as well as to modify the aggressive behavior and lifestyle of youth.

An Analysis of Weapons Used in Homicides in Jaipur Region- a Three Years Study

Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare, 2018

BACKGROUND The various patterns of homicidal deaths include assault by sharp weapon, blunt weapon, firearms, strangulation, homicidal hanging, smothering, drowning, burns, poisoning etc. The role of forensic expert is to help in the administration of justice. Detailed examination of wounds helps in prediction of the weapon used in the killing. The nature of the weapon used, and the gravity of the injury inflicted together play a decisive role in identifying the charges to be held against the said accused which further determine the punishment in each case. The present study was thus undertaken to find out the weapons used commonly in homicidal deaths in the study region.

An autopsy study on injuries in homicidal deaths due to weapons

Indian Journal of Forensic and Community Medicine, 2021

Homicide is defined as the intentional act of taking another person’s life. This study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital and Medical College at Pondicherry between 2004 to 2019. It included all homicide deaths with weapon autopsied in the department of Forensic Medicine. A total of 74 cases of homicide was identified and studied. The male : female ratio was 4:1. Commonest age group was 21- 30 years of age. 78% of cases had fatal injuries in more than one anatomical region and head was the most targeted region. More than one type of injuries was present in 65% of cases. In this study male victim had mostly sharp force weapon induced injuries and female victims had blunt force weapon induced injuries. It was also found that in age groups less than 10 years and more than 60 years blunt force weapon induced injuries predominated, whereas in other young adult age groups sharp force weapon induced injuries were predominately seen.

The Role of Firearms in Crime in South Africa: A Detailed Analysis of Police Dockets

2001

undertook the fieldwork and analysis of the contents of the closed police case dockets, as well as transcribing the information onto the docket questionnaire. The insight they brought to the analytic interpretation of the statistics was invaluable. In the section on the types of firearms used in crime, this report relies heavily on their practical experience and knowledge of firearms. Ettienne's experience as a detective in the SAPS also deepened the understanding of the circumstances surrounding the motive for, and role of firearms in incidents. Director James Oosthuizen, a senior SAPS official, accompanied the fieldworkers to Durban and Cape Town to oversee and verify the research process. Clare Jefferson managed the process of survey validation and data entry into the ISS database, as well as the statistical analyses reflected in this monograph. CONTRIBUTIONS Ettienne Hennop joined the ISS in October 1998 as a researcher in the Arms Management Programme (AMP). A member of the SAPS for 13 years, he held the rank of Detective Inspector. During his career, he served with different sections of the SAPS. From 1993 until 1998, he served in the head office and Pretoria branch of the FIUs as an investigating officer and a firearms expert. He has successfully completed several courses in ballistics, the identification of firearms and ammunition, the testing of firearms for court purposes and the identification and handling of explosives.