PITTSBURGH – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recently purchased and placed an IBIS TRAX HD3D in the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner. The equipment and technology is a one-of-a-kind system that produces leads to identify shooters, providing the most advanced automated ballistic identification solutions to further the Office’s work with the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).
“This latest and updated ballistic technology equipment is a tool that will further aid law enforcement in removing violent offenders from our streets and from our neighborhoods,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Sam Rabadi. “The Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner, Division of Forensic Laboratories, is an instrumental partner in our committed efforts to prevent and deter gun violence. Together, with our law enforcement partners, we will be smart on crime by using this technology to investigate, identify and arrest armed hoodlums who threaten the safety of our communities.”
Established in 1999, NIBIN is the only interstate ballistic imaging network operation in the United States. It uses digital images of shell casings to link violent crimes involving firearms and subsequently identifying firearm users. There are more than 1,000 certified users, three of which are in the Commonwealth (Allegheny County, Harrisburg and Philadelphia). NIBIN partners have confirmed over 50,000 hits. Allegheny County ranks third in the number of hits in the NIBIN system. Only New York and Chicago rank higher.
“Previously, the lab utilized a 2D image of ballistic evidence to identify possible matches to evidence from other violent crime scenes. With this new technology, our certified analysts are able to use a 3D, high-definition image to further manipulate it to highlight markings found on fired bullets and cartridge cases,” said Dr. Karl Williams, Allegheny County Medical Examiner. “Our technicians and examiners are then able to utilize that information to provide independent confirmations of the matches, and give law enforcement strong information that can lead to arrests in open cases.”
In 2015 alone, the Firearms and Toolmarks Section of the Crime Lab had 1,750 cases, 1,600 firearms, had 400 NIBIN hits and issued over 1,900 reports. Since becoming part of the NIBIN program, Allegheny County has had more than 3,000 hits. Nationwide, there are 158 NIBIN sites. Last year, those sites entered over 75,000 casings, 130,000 test fires from guns used in violent crimes, and identified nearly 8,000 of those entries.
When a gun is made, the manufacturing equipment etches microscopic markings – somewhat like fingerprints – onto the gun’s metal parts. These markings, called tool marks, are transferred to a bullet or cartridge case when the gun is fired. To use NIBIN, firearms examiners or technicians enter cartridge casing evidence into the system. The images are then correlated against the database. Law enforcement can search against evidence from their jurisdiction, neighboring ones and others across the country. This program is one investigative tool accessed by law enforcement that allows for sharing of information and cooperation, which results in more effectiveness in closing cases.
A NIBIN hit report has many potential tactical and strategic uses for law enforcement. Law enforcement investigators can use it to link crimes, which can help to identify suspects. They can also use it to understand patterns of gun crime, such as gun sharing and trafficking. It has potential to help criminal investigators solve violent gun crimes and combat organized criminal groups that use guns to commit violent crimes and homicides.
