In cases that do result in a conviction, police departments keep the firearms as evidence in case they are needed for appeals.
Evidence can consist of a conviction, police caution, protective injunction, letter from a health professional, residence in a refuge and other categories of information.
A few days after their conviction, police in Pakistan arrested Rimsha Masih, an 11-year-old Christian girl reported to have Down Syndrome, on charges of blasphemy for purportedly burning pages of the Koran.
Days after Mr. Gray's conviction, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly issued a policy that toughened the sanctions for officers who drink and drive, so that those involved in serious automobile accidents after drinking, either on or off duty, would almost certainly be dismissed.
Since the footballer's conviction, police have made 17 arrests over the alleged naming of the victim on Twitter.
Hart probably didn't find it so funny when, only a few hours after his conviction, police busted him for dealing marijuana.
He cited the recent convictions of police officers in about 20 cases, but said constitutional restraints also hamstring the state.
In 1991, after a long campaign had been conducted on their behalf, an appeals court overturned all six convictions, citing police mishandling of the evidence and indications that the confessions had been coerced.
Not only did the DNA match that of Robert Medina, a 24-year-old with prior felony convictions, the police said, but it also matched DNA found at four other burglaries.
A spokesman from the government's THINK! drink-drive campaign said: "We constantly monitor drink-drive statistics such as casualties, convictions and police breath test data to inform our campaign.
