EXAMINATION OF PAINT CHIPS AND SCRAPINGS WITH THE SPECTROPHOTOMETER

The police laboratory is faced with a great variety of problems, most of which resolve themselves into identification and comparison of various materials which will connect the suspect with a particular crime or crime scene. Paint and similar coatings are frequently obtained as evidence in cases where physical force has been used. Breaking and entering, safe bur-glaries, hit-and-run accidents, and even homicides may involve paint as evidence. The quantity of material varies considerably, but is usually quite small. With no standard quantity to work with, methods of analysis and comparison will also vary, and any method which will give additional information may be useful. Probably no single examination will give a positive identification of one specimen with another, but several examinations showing similarities will make the identification more nearly positive. With these thoughts in mind, the use of the reflectance attachmen