Policy Text
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW NEXT REVIEW
4 01/24/2011 12/01/201 8 12/01/ 2020
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
________________________________
808 - Restoration of Firearm Serial Numbers 1 POLICY 808 RESTORATION OF FIREARM SERIAL NUMBERS
808.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The primary purpose for restoring firearm serial numbers is to determine the prior owners or
origin of the item from which the number has been recovered. Thus, property can be returned to
rightful owners or investigations can be initiated to curb illegal trade of contraband firearms. The
purpose of this p olicy is to develop standards, methodologies, and safety protocols for the
recovery of obliterated serial numbers from firear ms and other objects using procedures that are
accepted as industry standards in the forensic community. All personnel who are involved in the
restoration of serial numbers will observe the following guidelines. This policy complies with Penal
Code § 11108 .9.
808.1.1 ACCREDITATION STANDARDS
This section pertains to the following CALEA Standards: N/A
808.2 PROCEDURE
Any firearm coming into the possession of the Tustin Police Department as evidence, found
property, etc., wher e the serial numbers have been removed or obliterated will be processed in
the following manner:
808.2.1 PRELIMINARY FIREARM EXAMINATION
a) Officers should a lways keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and make certain the
firearm is in an unloaded co ndition. Unloaded condition includes removal of the
ammunition source (e.g., the detachable magazine, contents of the tabular magazine) as
well as the chamber contents .
b) If the firearm is corroded shut or in a condition that would preclude inspection of the
chamber contents, officers should treat the firearm as if it is loaded and m ake immediate
arrangements for a firearms examiner or other qualified examiner to render the firearm
safe.
c) Officers should a ccurately record/document the condition of the gun when received
inclusive of noting the positions of the various components such as the safeties, cylinder,
magazine, slide, hammer, etc. Officers should a ccurately record/document cylinder
chamber and magazine contents and p ackage the ammunition separately .
d) If the firearm is to be processed for fingerprints or trace evidence, process before the
serial number restoration is attempted. Officers should f irst record/document important
aspects such as halos on the revolver cylinder face , or other relevant evidence th at might
be obscured by the fingerprinting chemicals .
808.2.2 PROPERTY BOOKING PROCEDURE
Any employee taking possession of a firearm with removed/obliterated serial numbers shall book
the firearm into property following standard procedures. The employee booking the firearm shall
indicate on the property form that serial numbers have been removed or obliterated.
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW NEXT REVIEW
4 01/24/2011 12/01/201 8 12/01/ 2020
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
________________________________
808 - Restoration of Firearm Serial Numbers 2
808.2.3 OFFICER RESPONSIBILITY
The property officer receiving a firearm when the serial numbers have been removed or
obliterated shall arrange for the firearm to be transported to the crime lab for restoration and
maintain the chain of evidence.
808.2.4 DOCUMENTATION
Police reports are prepared in order to document the chain of custody and the initial examination
and handling of evidence from the time it is received/collected until it is released.
This report must include a record of the manner in which and/or from whom the firearm was
received. This may appear on the request form or property form depending on the type of
evidence.
808.2.5 FIREARM TRACE
After the serial number has been restored (or partially restored) by the criminalistic s laboratory,
the P roperty and Evidence T echnician will enter the data into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms eTrace system by submitting a Natio nal Tracing Center trace request via the ATF
website.
808.3 BULLET AND CASING IDENTIFICATION
Exemplar bullets and cartridge cases from the firearm, depending upon acceptance criteria and
protocol, should be submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) which uses the Integrated Ballistic
Identification System (IBIS) technology to search the national database and compare with ballistic
evidence recovered from other cr ime scenes.