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NIBIN

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Case comparison

Photo shows two test-fired cartridge cases from the same firearm compared side-by-side with a comparison microscope. Source: Stephen G. Bunch et al., “Is a Match Really a Match? A Primer on the Procedures and Validity of Firearm and Toolmark Identification,” Forensic Science Communications 11(3) (July 2009).

 

Fourteen years ago the ATF (today, called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) set up the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). US partners of this network use Integrated Ballistic Identification Systems (IBIS) to obtain digital images of marks on fired cartridge cases and bullets. These cases and bullets are either recovered from a crime scene or from a test firing of a suspect weapon. The images are electronically compared with stored NIBIN entries. On TV shows, an electronic match – a hit – often ends the investigation. In real life, a high-confidence electronic match means that a firearms examiner compares original evidence with a microscope to confirm the match. So far, NIBIN partners have confirmed more than 50,000 NIBIN hits.

Last month, KVOA’s Lupita Murillo in Tucson reported a practical problem with NIBIN analysis. Although an electronic comparison may only require hours, somebody has to acquire and upload digital images into the network. The Tucson Police Crime Lab had 1,200 backlogged cases that needed to be entered into the system.

 

DNA – Fast

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DNA

 

Those multitasking, gun-toting TV CSIs perform DNA tests at record-breaking speeds. After all, they need to solve a crime in 44 minutes (allowing for commercials). The speed of real DNA analysis is catching up.

IntegenX® (Pleasanton, CA) has introduced its RapidHIT 200, which enables investigators to run a DNA test in a quick 90 minutes. The portable RapidHIT 200 is about the size of a small copy machine, and it analyzes DNA in a cheek swab. The device will allow law enforcement officers to quickly identify genuine suspects and eliminate people unrelated to the criminal activity.

“You’re going to see it in the field more,” said Jay Henry, laboratory director for the Bureau of Forensic Services (Salt Lake City). “The crime lab will be the crime scene. You can find out a lot more at the crime scene itself.”

The IntegenX website provides details about this technology, including a link to a recent Evidence Technology Magazine article highlighting RapidHIT.

 

FBI Gun Collection

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Gun collection

FBI Gun Collection. Source: FBI.

 

Earlier this month, the FBI posted a story about the agency’s reference firearms collection. Started in 1933, the collection of 7,000 firearms is stored at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

FBI Lab firearms examiners use the assembly of weapons to study and test firearms in support of current investigations. The library of handguns and rifles includes a database of typical marks made by the weapons, and more than 15,000 types of commercial and military ammunition. Suppressors, magazines, muzzle attachments, grenade launchers and rocket launchers also reside here.

“Oftentimes this collection is used in active cases in comparing known samples from our collection with question samples from the field,” explained FBI firearms examiner John Webb. “Often, an investigator will receive a part of a firearm or a firearm that isn’t functional. We can take that and compare it with our reference collection, determine what isn’t functioning, and repair it so we can obtain the test fires we need to conduct examinations with bullets and cartridge cases.”