Policy Text
POLICY
208.0Firearm Recovery
ESTABLISHED BY CHIEF DAVID
MAGNUSSON 5/5019
Revised: 4/2019RELATED POLICIES:
Reviewed by Chief David Magnusson
5/2019
A.PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for recovering firearms.
B.POLICY: It is the policy of the Village of El Portal Police Department to follow timely
and sustainable protocols for the recovery and forensic processing of all firearms and
firearm-related evidence.
C.PROCEDURES :
When responding to scenes involving firearms, personnel should:
1. Note the location of firearms and any items in the immediate vicinity.
2. When the scene involves a motor vehicle, note the seating location of occupants
and orientation of any firearms (e.g., under the driver’s seat with barrel pointed at twelve
o’clock, butt of gun pointed at three o’clock – accessible from back seat).
3. When conducting interviews, ask anyone in possession of a firearm how he or she
came to have the weapon and expand the inquiry to obtain as much information related to the
firearm as possible.
4. As soon as possible, obtain video or other electronic surveillance that may exist at
or around the site of a firearm discharge or around the site where a firearm was discarded.
When collecting firearms evidence, personnel should
1. Designate a single evidence handler, where practical.
2. If unfamiliar with the operation of the firearm, seek assistance.
3. Handle any firearms as little as possible and only while wearing clean disposable
gloves (e.g., latex, nitrile), changing as appropriate to avoid cross-contamination.
4. Photograph and videotape, where possible, the location of the firearm as found.
5. Not put anything in the barrel of the firearm.
6. Following agency protocol, render firearms safe as soon as possible and use
appropriate personal protective equipment. Remove the magazine and clear chambered rounds
only when the firearm is pointed in a safe direction and in a safe location.
7. Note the “loaded/fired” state of the firearm.
8. In the case of revolvers, note the position of the cylinder (e.g., mark with pencil) when
seized and whether it contained a live cartridge or any fired cartridge cases.
9. Do not unload the magazine unless agency policy requires it to be unloaded in order to
verify content.
10. Collect and preserve all firearms and live cartridges, as they may bear microscopic
markings and other forensic evidence.
11. Collect fired evidence (e.g., cartridge cases and bullets) using clean disposable gloves
(e.g., latex, nitrile). Do not use metal tools (e.g., metal tweezers) or exert force that could add to
or interfere with the microscopic markings on the items.
12. If a bullet is embedded in a solid object (e.g., drywall, door, tree), do not attempt to
dig it out. When feasible, a section of the material surrounding the bullet should be cut out and
submitted to the laboratory along with the untouched, embedded bullet. Seek assistance if needed
and available
13. Prior to transporting firearms evidence
a. Ensure the firearm is safe by inserting a plastic zip tie through the
magazine well and chamber, or through the open cylinder.
b. Package a firearm along with the removed, loaded magazine by securing
within the evidence container to prevent movement and contact.
c. Package live cartridges and fired cartridge cases and bullets separately in
individually marked evidence boxes or envelopes. Package in a manner that avoids any
alterations to potential microscopic markings or other forensic evidence such as latent prints or
DNA.
d. Seek guidance from the appropriate crime scene personnel or forensic
service provider or laboratory if there are any questions pertaining to proper collection or
packaging techniques.
Once firearms evidence has been collected, agency personnel should enter any applicable
information into the appropriate databases, including but not limited to ballistics data,
DNA, latent fingerprints, lost and stolen firearms, and historical firearm transaction
records, and conduct relevant computer inquiries. In the United States, this includes the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic
Information Network (NIBIN) and Electronic Tracing System (eTrace), as well as the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). III
That being said, major crime guns will be collected by the Miami-Dade County Police
Department, who will conduct the investigation. They have their own procedures which are very
similar to this one. For purposes of the Village of El Portal Police Department, the issues arise
with more minor crimes such as CCF, DV related Aggravated. Assault, or even a found gun. It
is imperative that the above policy is followed, and we have no firearm that is sitting in our
property room that has not been tested (for it may have been used in a previous crime(s) and we
have the missing piece to the investigative puzzle right before us)
In matters such as these, the weapon will be properly packaged as per this policy and taken to
Miami-Dade County HQ (if their CSI cannot come to El Portal to process the weapon) and a
request made for the weapon to be run in the aforementioned databases.
NOTE: This policy specifically addresses firearms-related evidence. Other forms of evidence