Mike Levin: “I wish to bring the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network or NIBIN to the attention of my colleagues. NIBIN…”

“I wish to bring the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network or NIBIN to the attention of my colleagues. NIBIN is an interconnected, computer-assisted ballistics imaging system that allows forensic firearms examiners to obtain computerized images of the unique marking made on bullets and casings when a gun is fired. Through NIBIN, investigators can rapidly compare these markings with images in the database of Federal, State, and local law enforcement laboratories. Law enforcement officials can then link evidence from multiple crime scenes, identify patterns of criminal activity, and possibly lead investigators to the arrest of suspects. As an investigative instrument, ballistics imaging complements crime gun tracing. Crime gun tracing consists of tracking the history of a gun used to commit a crime. By tracing crime guns, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms helps State and local law enforcement agencies solve firearms-related crime by identifying suppliers of multiple-crime guns, and gun trafficking patterns. According to an ATF report, since March 2000, the NIBIN in coordination with crime gun tracing efforts has produced more than 8,800 ballistics matches, linking over 17,600 crime scenes. Some of these matches would not have been made without the use of a computer-assisted ballistics imaging system.”