Recovering prints on shell casings

[LPDC3]

Does anyone know of good methods for recovering prints on shell casings. I have recently seen something about a CERA device that uses electricity to enhance and capture these type of prints, and someone else posted something regarding putting in the freezer before fuming.

How do you process casings and do you get results?

Thanks for your help!!

[ekuadam]

I know this won't help, but we actually don't process fired cartridge casings in our lab. The police department, with input from the lab, put out a circular a few years ago stating that fired casings are to go directly to NIBIN entry, as they care about those results getting out quickly and the rate we actually obtained any friction ridge detail was small. So we just process magazines and unfired cartridges, revolver and long guns. As well as firearms collected by CSU where they see ridge detail. We don't process many pistols any more due to not getting good results, so most of the time they go to NIBIN.

A company did come and give us a demo on their system that is used to develop ridges on cartridge casings. It didn't work in the demo very well. we were told because the prints were too old I believe, they were test fired a week or so before the company came.

I am interested in seeing other labs policies as well.