Not only that, but I would rather see all of this energy being applied to the problem of traditionally manufactured guns and the deaths they cause. Which is a huge problem, while this is a blip on the radar so far.
Comment on 3D Printing Patterns Might Make Ghost Guns More Traceable Than We Thought
Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 5 weeks ago
It would be nice if you could post something where we can examine the source.
I found this article: techspot.com/…/108720-hidden-fingerprints-inside-…
There they say that it’s not yet ready to be used in evidence, but the problem with that is that most forensic “science” is generally misapplied and nowhere near as conclusive as the police want us to think. They can usually massage the results to tell a jury what they want to be true. That would be my concern with this kind of technique.
Also, if you’re going to the trouble of making a 3d printed ghost gun that will be used in a crime, you could always hide the toolmarks with a sander. You could also treat the surface with resin which would make the markings practically unrecoverable. I’ve started doing both of these for my prints and I love the results just for the aesthetics, so it’s not such a stretch to imagine a gunsmith doing the same.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
This is such an important thing to remember. It’s just like how a lot of hand-held breathalyzers are closed source, and when their source code is finally subjected to scrutiny (because you’re supposed to be able to face your accuser, and the device is your accuser), it often doesn’t meet basic required standards for things like error reporting or failsafes to prevent false positives.
Much of forensic “science” isn’t exactly science as we understand it.
Excrubulent@slrpnk.net 5 weeks ago
Yup, Behind the Bastards did an excellent two parter on forensic science in general:
iheart.com/…/part-one-the-bastards-of-forensic-17… iheart.com/…/part-two-the-bastards-of-forensic-17…
They make a good point that real science is involved, but by the time it makes it into the police’s hands it’s mutated into essentially a mechanism to manufacture convictions. Grifters get hold of the science, and cops are like the perfect marks, because they’re just primed for anything that will confirm their existing biases, plus they’ve got massive state budgets to play with, and they’ll happily give the grifters legitimacy.