Ballistics Case - Hollow Points

Ballistics

Eric Sammons

Criminal Justice

Pioneer Career and Technology Center

Abstract

Hollow points are the most effective bullet for police use. Not any kind of bullet is suitable for police use. One shooting from another shooting is always different. This is why police need to carry hollow points because, they never know who they will come in contact with during a shooting. Therefore, police should only load their duty firearms with hollow points, to protect themselves and others while on duty. No other round is suitable for everyday use by officers.

Ballistics

Police officers have many weapons they can use, but the most reliable and effective weapon is their handgun. Officers in many areas of the world use their handguns on a daily basis. Each department uses different handguns and different rounds. Every pistol and round performs differently than others. Often officers carry hollow point bullets in their duty side arm. Officers carry hollow points for their performance and reliability to stop attackers.

Police Handguns

Some police departments arm their officer's differently than other departments. Majority of departments get a sponsorship from a firearm manufacturer, which means all the officers will be armed with a certain firearm brand. While other departments let the officer chose a firearm that they are comfortable with. There are many handguns made for police use, but only a few brands are trusted for police use. One trusted brand of police handguns would be Glock.

Glock carries a special line of duty pistols for police officers. Approximately 65% of police departments in America carry Glock as their duty pistols. Glock models 21, 22, and 23 are the top models for carry use of an officer (Figure 1). Glock pistols are special for police use because, the safety is built into the trigger. This ensures that when the officer needs to fire, that the gun will be ready to go, without worry about the safety (Glock, 2012).

Another line of police approved handguns would be the M&P series by Smith & Wesson. These pistols were designed for the use by the United States military and police forces across America (Figure 2). The guns are available in different calibers, which is convenient. The more popular calibers are 9mm, 40 s&w, and .45. They also make it in 22 caliber, but no officers