NCJ Number
209508
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2005 Pages: 54-58,60,61
Date Published
March 2005
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article depicts ways in which glass can yield important evidence at a crime scene, and information is provided on various types of procedures for the forensic analysis of glass.
Abstract
At some crime scenes, lethal or injurious projectiles penetrate glass at the scene. In such cases, the direction from which the projectile came can be determined from the pattern of fractures in the glass. Forensic analysis can determine the order of fractures in the glass as well as the various types of fractures. The latter analysis can tell an investigator the angle of impact and the side of a glass pane on which the impact occurred. This article presents the details of such an analysis by using an actual case. In other cases, glass at the crime scene may be shattered, requiring that it be pieced together. The investigator must begin with the frame in which the glass was placed, determining which is the inside and which is the outside. The loose pieces of glass must than be matched up with pieces that are still adhering to the frame. Once the pieces are all in place, the point of impact can be determined. The radial fractures can also be examined to learn from which side the glass was broken. The article concludes with a discussion of glass fragments as evidence. This involves determining the specific characteristics of the glass that make it distinctive or part of a class. Procedures for analyzing the type and composition of glass are described. 2 figures