The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network or NIBIN is a specialized computer network in the United States. It contains digital images of recovered pieces of ballistic evidence.
8-530: Running on the Integrated Ballistic Identification System or IBIS platform, NIBIN enables U.S. law enforcers to rapidly determine if a piece of recovered ballistic evidence came from a firearm that has been previously used in a crime. There are certain criteria that must be met prior to entering information into the NIBIN database. For instance, cartridge cases from a .22 caliber firearm or
16-401: A crime scene or a crime gun test fire and then compare those images against earlier entries via electronic image comparison. If a high-confidence candidate for a match emerges, firearms examiners compare the original evidence with a microscope to confirm the match. Integrated Ballistic Identification System The Integrated Ballistics Identification System , or IBIS , is the brand of
24-422: A crime scene will generate about 10 possible matches, with about a 75-95% chance of a successful match. While some groups have advocated laws requiring all firearms sold be test-fired and registered in such a system, success has been mixed. In 2005, a Maryland State Police report recommended a law requiring all handguns sold in the state be registered in their IBIS system be repealed, as at the cost of $ 2.5 million
32-499: A revolver are normally not entered. Using NIBIN, law enforcement staff can identify firearms in new cases that were used in prior incidents. A series of seventeen different Washington state crime scenes involving seven firearms, and three different agencies in two counties, was identified using information provided by IBIS/NIBIN. In 1999, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) established and began administration of
40-637: The Automated firearms identification system manufactured by Forensic Technology WAI, Inc., of Montreal, Canada. IBIS has been adopted as the platform of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) program, which is run by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). NIBIN tracks about 100,000 guns used in crimes. The integration of technology into about 220 sites across
48-593: The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. In this program, ATF administers automated ballistic imaging technology for law enforcement , forensic science , and attorney agencies in the United States that have entered into a formal agreement with ATF to enter ballistic information into NIBIN. Partners use Integrated Ballistic Identification Systems to acquire digital images of the markings made on spent ammunition recovered from
56-420: The continental US and its territories facilitates sharing of information between different law enforcement groups. The rapid dissemination of ballistics information, in turn, allows for tracking of gun-specific information and connection of a particular firearm to multiple crimes irrespective of geographic location. A National Research Council report has found that with the NIBIN dataset, a bullet retrieved from
64-747: The system had not produced "any meaningful hits". The Maryland system was shut down in 2015 due to its ineffectiveness. By 2008, the New York COBIS system, which costs $ 4 million per year, had not produced any hits leading to prosecutions in 7 years of operation. The system has been more successful when used to track guns used by and found on criminals. IBIS is frequently mentioned in modern television programs, fictional and otherwise, that use forensics to aid in solving crimes. These television shows include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spinoffs, amongst others. Forensic Technology helped develop an interactive exhibit, 'CSI: The Experience' that showcased
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