Keeping up with firearm forensics

Graham Williams, Lecturer in forensic science and consultant forensic biologist at the University of Huddersfield.

LAST month, taxi driver Derrick Bird went on a shooting spree in Cumbria that left 12 people dead and injured a further 11. Bird then went on to take his own life.

The weapons used were a rifle and a shotgun which were apparently legally owned by Bird.

UK gun law is among the most stringent firearms legislation in the world, in contrast to the United States where a US citizen has a constitutional right to bear arms or Switzerland, where every male between the age of 20 and 30 (or 34) is required to maintain a rifle.

However, having such tough laws in the UK was not always the case. There used to be a right for English subjects to have “arms for their defence, suitable to their condition and degree, and such as are allowed by law”.

In 1824, the Vagrancy Act was passed which allowed the police to arrest anyone in possession of an offensive weapon with the intent to commit a felonious act.

This is the first firearms act that referred to the criminal use of firearms and there were frequent debates in the courts as to what constitutes an offensive weapon.

However, it was still legal to own an offensive weapon, but this was then addressed by the introduction of various acts, which sought to regulate the sale and use of pistols and other weapons.

All of these laws were then replaced by the 1968 Firearms Act, which now forms the basis of current legislation.

This act defined a firearm and placed restrictions on who could possess a firearm.

For example, you had to demonstrate a good reason for possessing the firearm or ammunition and gave conditions in which such weapons should be stored, such as the firearm and the ammunition being stored separately in locked containers.

This law then changed in 1988 following the Hungerford Massacre two years earlier, when Michael Ryan, armed with a semi-automatic rifle, a pistol and a carbine, killed 16 people and injured 15 before committing suicide.

Like Bird, Michael Ryan owned these weapons legally.

The change in legislation resulted in the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 which prohibited possession of semi-automatic rifles, self-loading rifles, shortened (sawn-off) shotguns and many others.

This act also placed restriction on shotguns. At this time, semi-automatic pistols were still legal (providing you had a firearms certificate).

However, in 1996 Thomas Hamilton killed 16 pupils and a teacher at Dunblane Primary School — again with legally-owned firearms, including a pistol — before killing himself.

In response, the Government passed the 1997 Firearms Act which prohibited nearly all handguns. The exceptions included antique weapons, weapons of notable interest or single shot pistols for pest control.

So how does this affect forensic firearms examiners?

Like any forensic science discipline, what defines our role is the law. For example, if it were legal to drink and drive, then there would be no need to test blood alcohol levels

With the complex firearms law in the UK, it is necessary to demonstrate that the firearm in question is actually an illegal firearm. For example under the 1997 Firearms Act, any pistol made before 1917 is considered an antique weapon and is therefore exempt from prohibition.

So how do we know it was made before 1917? That is where a firearms examiner comes in.

This gives rise to a forensic discipline, firearms classification. This discipline first asks the question, is this thing a firearm and if so, is it illegal and under which act?

One particularly challenging area is decommissioned firearms. These are firearms that are of interest to a collector, but in order for it to be legal it has been rendered incapable of discharging a bullet.

This can be by removal of the firing pin, removal of the barrel or blocking the barrel.

However, there have been a number of firearm offences where a firearm has been re-commissioned.

This has resulted in a requirement for firearms examiners to look closely at decommissioned firearms and give their opinion on how easily it could be re-commissioned.

If it is within the capability of the defendant to re-commission a firearm, then that person may be found guilty of a firearms offence.

So a forensic firearms examiner has to be very knowledgeable about firearms law and must keep on top of all the changes.

If the Government were to introduce further prohibition upon rifles and shotguns in response to the Cumbria tragedy, then all firearms examiners in the UK will have to study the legislation very closely to ensure they can do their jobs correctly.