Firearms Forensic Unit
by Stephen Hauck
CBS 42 News
2007-11-12 20:00:00.0
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Fans of CSI: Miami know her as Calleigh Duquesne, a brilliant and beautiful firearms forensic scientist with a gentle spirit of southern charm. But how much of her character's crime-solving expertise is reality, or just Hollywood scripting?
Most people don't realize Birmingham has the only police department in the state with its very own firearms forensic unit. Leading that department is Mitch Rector, a brilliant forensic scientist himself who says it's nice that Hollywood is able to solve crimes in a one-hour TV show. But, in real life, things are quite different.
Rector is in his seventh year as the head of Birmingham's firearms forensic unit. He's says when comparing himself to Calleigh on CSI: Miami, there's one obvious difference.
"Calleigh's a lot prettier than I am, one thing."
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But, as for their line of work in solving crimes with their ballistics expertise, Rector says the reality is you can't do it all in just 60 minutes.
"If I had to pick out one thing, the difference between the real world and the Hollywood world is the time factor," said Rector.
Rector remembers one case he handled that proves how long firearms investigations can take.
"It had 44 fired cartridge casings from one shooting scene, and at the conclusion of the exam, I determined there were six guns responsible for those 44," said Rector.
But Rector admits that there are also many similarities between his job and Calleigh's portrayal of it. High-tech equipment is constantly used to map out microscopic markings that can prove someone's guilt or innocence.
"We're looking for markings that are unique to a particular firearm. There are so many guns out on the streets today, but we are looking for one," said Rector.
It's often a thankless job, but Rector says it's also extremely gratifying.
"I don't think anyone who goes into this line of work goes into it for the recognition. They go into it because they're a details-oriented person. They like picking through the haystack to find the needle," said Rector.
And that "needle" doesn't always prove the suspect did it.
Although Rector enjoys helping detectives crack cases with vital ballistic forensic information to nail the "bad guy," he says it's the times he finds proof that a suspect didn't commit the crime that are most rewarding. Showing, just like Calleigh, that these forensics investigators often do have a big heart and show it in their work.
"I would rather be a part of determining someone's innocence then convicting 10,000 people, because to be wrongly accused or convicted would be horrible," said Rector.
Cases that come in are prioritized and worked on by three investigators in Birmingham’s forensic firearms unit. Rector says they are able to report-out 800 cases a year, keeping themselves very busy in the never-ending battle to fight crime in The Magic City.
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