National Integrated Ballistic Identification Network
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.
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 a revolver are normally not entered.[1]
The advantages of this system are vast, especially in multiple cases involving the use of the same firearm. Law enforcement agencies can use information from previous entries to establish connections in relation to the location of prior incidents as well as the details of each individual case.
Washington state has had great success in linking firearms crimes to one another using the IBIS/NIBIN database. For example, a series of seventeen different crime scenes involving seven firearms, and three different agencies in two counties, was identified using information provided by IBIS/NIBIN.[2]
Organizational purpose
In 1999, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) established and began administration of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.[3] 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 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.