Leica FSC
Definition
Leica Forensic Comparison System; a motorised zoom comparison microscope used in firearms and toolmark examination at CFSL laboratories in India, European national labs, and many US state-level crime laboratories.
- Full name
- Leica Forensic Comparison System
- Type
- Motorised zoom comparison microscope
- Field
- Firearms and toolmark examination
- Usage
- CFSL India, European and US state labs
Common questions
What does a comparison microscope let an examiner do that a single microscope cannot?+
It joins two microscope heads through a shared optical bridge, placing two specimens, such as a test-fired bullet and a crime-scene bullet, side by side in a single split field of view, so striations can be aligned and compared directly rather than from memory or photographs.
Why is motorised zoom significant on this instrument?+
Motorised zoom lets the examiner adjust magnification on both sides of the split field in fine, repeatable steps without disturbing specimen alignment, which is important when matching striation patterns at the specific magnification where they align best.
Related terms
- AFTE Theory of Identification
- The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners' standard (1992, revised 2011) for reporting tool-mark comparison conclusions as Identification, Inconclusive, or Elimination...
- BalliScan 3D
- Foster and Freeman's three-dimensional topographic bullet comparison instrument that maps striated surfaces using structured-light interferometry for both optical and digital comparison workflows.
- Class Characteristics
- Features deliberately or systematically imparted to a group of items by design or manufacture, such as the calibre of a bullet, the...
- Comparison Microscope
- Two compound microscope bodies connected by an optical bridge that presents one half of each body's image in a single split eyepiece...
- Consecutive Matching Striae (CMS)
- A run of adjacent, individually corresponding striae observed across two bullets in the comparison microscope split field. The length of the longest...
- Individual Characteristics
- Surface features on a fired bullet or cartridge case that arise from random or unique events (tool wear, corrosion, service damage) and...
- PCAST Report (2016)
- The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 2016 report on forensic science that found firearms mark analysis had not yet...
- Projectina PAG II
- A high-precision Swiss comparison microscope with motorised stages and quantitative striation-angle measurement, used at Swiss cantonal forensic labs and German LKA laboratories.
- Striations
- Fine parallel scratches on a fired bullet's surface, produced by asperities on the barrel's land surfaces. Each striation reflects the surface topography...