NIBIN Mission
In 1999, ATF established and began administration of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). In this program, ATF administers automated ballistic imaging technology for NIBIN Partners 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 (IBIS) to acquire digital images of the markings made on fired cartridge cases and bullets recovered from a crime scene or a crime gun test fire and then compare those images (in a matter of hours) against earlier NIBIN 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 or NIBIN “hit.” By searching in an automated environment either locally, regionally, or nationally, NIBIN Partners are able to discover links between crimes more quickly, including links that would never have been identified absent the technology.
Law Enforcement Agency Participation
Law enforcement agencies should submit all of their information to a NIBIN partner for entry onto the network. This includes fired ammunition, evidence from crime scenes, and test fires of crime guns (defined as any firearm that is illegally possessed, used in a crime, or suspected by law enforcement officials of having been used in a crime). Submitting fired ammunition evidence is especially important. Experience has shown that the higher the percentage of evidence entered on the network, the higher the ballistic match success rate. To submit this evidence to a local NIBIN Partner or to an ATF Laboratory, follow the directions in the attached link.
Law enforcement agencies should investigate all matches (NIBIN “hits”) in order to solve, reduce, and prevent violent crimes. Organizing a standard and simple “hit” notification protocol for investigators as well as instituting investigator reporting requirements for the status and outcome of investigations is equally important.
NIBIN Success Stories
Over a two-year period, the West Palm Beach (FL) Police Department, the Palm Beach Gardens (FL) Police Department, and the Riviera Beach (FL) Police Department responded to a violent crime spree that included a double homicide near a shopping mall; a double homicide on a public street; an armed carjacking of a commercial truck; an armed carjacking outside of a restaurant, and a shooting outside of a restaurant. Subsequently, Riviera Beach Police Department recovered an abandoned .380 caliber pistol, later arresting a suspect. Palm Beach Gardens Police Department recovered an abandoned .40 caliber pistol at the scene of the restaurant armed carjacking and later arrested two suspects. Using NIBIN, Palm Beach County (FL) Sheriff’s Office was able to link the .40 caliber pistol to both double homicides and the restaurant shooting; and the .380 caliber pistol to one of the double homicides. All three suspects were convicted of Federal and/or State crimes and sentenced from 20 to 40 years imprisonment.
Over a six-month period, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to 5 gang-related shootings in South Central Los Angeles. The shootings included one gunfire exchange; two drive-by shootings — one resulting in an injury; a shooting at a party — resulting in one fatality and five injured victims; and a shooting at a business — resulting in one fatality and three injured victims. Subsequently, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested two suspects for unlawful possession of three firearms. Using NIBIN, Los Angeles Police Department was able to link one of the firearms (a 9mm pistol) to all five shootings. Both arrestees were convicted and sentenced to 50 years imprisonment.
The Chicago Police Department responded to the homicide of a 19-year-old factory worker who was killed when a bullet fired from a passing car into a neighborhood crowd struck him in the head. Eight years later, the Chicago Police Department conducted a traffic stop for an ordinance violation, and arrested the driver for unlawful possession of a firearm. Using NIBIN, the Illinois State Police-Chicago was able to link the firearm to the murder. ATF and the Chicago Police Department investigated the recovery of the firearm and determined that the firearm had been purchased by a “straw purchaser” one day prior to the murder. The purchaser had transferred the firearm to the shooter, and the shooter then sold the firearm shortly after the murder. In November 2007, the shooter, a felon and enforcer for a Chicago-based street gang, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 50 years imprisonment.
Join the Team
If your law enforcement agency is not already submitting shooting evidence and firearm test fires into NIBIN and conducting follow up investigations, ATF special agents and analysts are assigned throughout the United States to assist you in getting started. There are various ways to get your agency involved and to submit your seized firearms and fired evidence collected at crime scenes. It is best to contact your nearest NIBIN site and work out a plan that specifically addresses the needs of your agency and the most effective and efficient procedure for submissions.
