NCJ Number
200895
Date Published
2001
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This document describes the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).
Abstract
The NIBIN program includes the development and maintenance of a database of ballistic images from crime guns. The database contains images of casings or bullets recovered at crime scenes, as well as casings or bullets from test fires of recovered firearms. As new images are entered, the system searches the existing database and comparisons are made for possible matches. The purpose of these comparisons is to link ballistic evidence from crime scenes, linking one crime scene to another. When the system discovers a likely match, firearms examiners repeat the comparison with the actual evidence to confirm the match. This program draws upon a variety of resources with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and crosses traditional boundaries between Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies’ areas of responsibility. The program’s success depends on the cooperation on which it is based. NIBIN partner agencies must continue to enter firearm evidence into the computerized database in the form of test fires and recovered bullets and cartridge casings. As the database grows, the potential increases for identifications to be made, links to crime guns revealed, and links investigative leads created. The program is an investigative tool that discovers links invisible to other investigative methods. The NIBIN system depends entirely on the thorough investigation of the intelligence information generated during good police work. The goals for expansion and strengthening of the NIBIN program include creating an internal working group to determine methods for increasing NIBIN intelligence information capabilities over the short and long term; and expanding the number of partners that participate in the program.