Topic: 40-Hour Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination Course

[Philip Hess]

This course is FREE to anyone working for a California lab or police agency.  If you work at an agency from another state, a federal agency, or a private laboratory the class fee is currently $600.  The next offering for this course will be the first week of November, 2019 in Sacramento, California.  More courses will become available in 2020.  Use the link below to get on the waitlist for any future course.  People can sign up for the course using the link below:


https://cci.gosignmeup.com/public/Course/browse?courseid=2618

E440 Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination

This is a 5-day (40 hour) course.  Students will learn how to document, preserve, and interpret Gunshot Residue patterns on a variety of materials.  The course will be broken up into lecture, practical exercises, mock case scenarios - which they will process and write reports detailing their findings and opinions.  The following topics will be covered:  History of processing items for distance determination; Current literature relating to distance determination and GSR pattern testing; Documentation techniques (traditional and digital) for processing evidence items; Preparation of chemicals and reagents to be used in analyzing items for GSR patterns; Evaluation of different paper types available for the Modified Griess Test; Cleaning techniques for removing blood from materials; Variability in patterns based on type of firearm used, material the pattern is on, angles of the firearm and material when the firearm discharged; Examining the variability in ammunition styles including Lead-Free ammunition; Evaluation of possible scenarios based on the examination and analysis of the evidence; Report writing styles and range of conclusions; and Incorporating uncertainty into Distance Determination to meet ANAB standards.  Students will process items of mock evidence and document their findings using:  Modified Griess test; Sodium Rhodizonate test; Dithiooxamide test; Conventional photography; Infrared photography; Microscopy; and worksheets and notes.