From Operating Room to Courtroom, Nurses Help Solve Violent Crimes With Ballistic
Program
By Jennifer C. Budden
In the operating room, a clink is heard as the extracted bullet drops into
the metal pan. In the rush to treat the patient, the bullet is separated from
its victim, left aside, eventually disposed of. But when the bullet is lost,
a valuable voice is silenced, a voice that could speak for its victim to tell
police the story of the crime.
Ballistic evidence can be crucial to solving a crime, and thanks to a federal
program, state and local law enforcement agencies can make the most of the evidence
they collect. The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN),
provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), contains
digital images of crime-gun evidence, including bullets and casings recovered
at crime scenes and those resulting from the test fire of a seized weapon. State
and local laboratories use NIBIN to find links to other crimes committed with
the same weapon, tracking a weapon from crime to crime even across jurisdictional
lines. Through an innovative program in Atlanta, healthcare and law enforcement
cooperate to recover ballistic evidence and enter it into the NIBIN network,
linking crimes that could not be connected by other means. By taking advantage
of the nationwide availability of NIBIN, the healthcare and law enforcement
communities can work together to replicate this success nationwide.
An Electronic Open Case File
Through the NIBIN Program, ATF deploys Integrated Ballistic Identification
System (IBIS) equipment into state and local law enforcement agencies for their
use in imaging and comparing crime gun evidence. This equipment allows firearms
technicians to acquire digital images of the markings made by a firearm on bullets
and cartridge casings; the images then undergo automated initial comparison.
If a high-confidence candidate emerges, firearms examiners compare the original
evidence to confirm a match. By minimizing the amount of non-matching evidence
that firearms examiners must inspect to find a confirmable match, the NIBIN
system enables law enforcement agencies to discover links between crimes more
quickly, including links that would have been lost without the technology.
In funding and supporting this program, ATF provides state and local law enforcement
agencies with an effective intelligence tool that many could not afford on their
own. The system also makes it possible to share intelligence across jurisdictional
boundaries, enabling state and local law enforcement agencies to work together
to stop violent criminals.
NIBIN partner agencies and ATF work together against violent crime. ATF purchases
IBIS equipment for deployment, and provides for regular upgrades and service,
as well as administering the network over which it communicates. Also, ATF provides
a five-day training course for new users of the system. In return, NIBIN partners
agree to support the program with adequate staffing and resources, to enter
as much crime-gun evidence as possible into their IBIS systems, to share evidence
and intelligence information with other law enforcement agencies, and to abide
by ATF regulations for use of the NIBIN system.
A Great Example
The NIBIN system is at its most effective when the maximum evidence is entered,
and in Atlanta, healthcare personnel are crucial to this process. Through the
"Cops and Docs" program, an evidence drop box has been installed in
the operating room at Grady Memorial Hospital. When bullets are recovered from
gunshot victims, they are packaged with identifying information, then placed
in the box. Each week, the bullets are retrieved and taken to a Georgia Bureau
of Investigation laboratory for entry into the NIBIN system.
The program began as an ATF laboratory initiative to increase the amount of
bullet evidence entered into NIBIN from the Atlanta metropolitan area. When
ATF learned that bullets extracted from gunshot victims were not being submitted
for forensic analysis, it worked with Emory University’s Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann,
professor and director of the Center for Injury Control, and with Grady Memorial
Hospital staff to create the "Cops and Docs" program. The program
has been in operation since August 1998, and much valuable evidence has been
gathered, including case linkages such as the ones described later.
Many More Opportunities
Ballistic comparison technology is now within the reach of law enforcement
agencies nationwide. The NIBIN program has placed ballistic imaging equipment
at 225 sites across the United States. A few more sites will receive equipment
when construction projects at their forensic laboratories are completed. When
the network is complete, IBIS technology will be available at each state’s bureau
of investigation (or equivalent) and to county and city law enforcement in major
metropolitan areas. When a new piece of evidence is entered, it is searched
first against the other evidence submitted by that agency, then against evidence
from other agencies in the area. Full nationwide networking, available this
summer, will enable all users to share data with neighboring jurisdictions or
across long distances with a few mouse clicks.
Matching Evidence, Solving Crimes
Since ATF and its state and local partner agencies have been using the technology,
approximately 5,700 hits have been logged. A "hit" is a linkage of
at least two different crime investigations by the user of the NIBIN technology,
where previously there had been no known connection between the investigations.
For example, use of the NIBIN program by law enforcement in Ohio has helped
two police departments find a valuable link between otherwise unrelated violent
crimes. Dayton Police Department officers responded to the scene of a shooting
after two suspects approached a deliveryman, shot and wounded him, and stole
his wallet. One cartridge casing was recovered at the scene and submitted for
IBIS entry. Four days later, police officers in Piqua, Ohio, a rural community
30 miles north of Dayton, responded to a shooting. Police work revealed that
the shooting had occurred in the course of a drug purchase. At the scene, five
cartridge casings and two pistols of different calibers were recovered. IBIS
correlation revealed a potential link to the incident in Piqua, a link that
was confirmed by firearms examiners. Detectives from the two police departments
then began working together and sharing investigative leads. Felony charges
and arrests are imminent in the investigations.
Another story, this one from Atlanta, particularly indicates how the law enforcement
and healthcare communities can work together, discovering connections between
crimes. One person was wounded in a shooting. In the course of treating the
victim, healthcare personnel removed the bullet and submitted it for NIBIN entry
through the drop box. Three months later, a suspect was shot as he attempted
an armed robbery. At the scene, his firearm was seized, and some spent bullets
and casings were recovered. The seized firearm was test fired and the results
entered into NIBIN. Correlation highlighted a potential link between the two
incidents, and firearms examiners later confirmed that the firearm seized during
the second armed robbery incident had been used in the first shooting.
Where to Learn More
More information about the NIBIN program is available from a variety of sources.
On the Internet, you can learn about NIBIN at the Web site www.nibin.gov. If
you have additional questions about the NIBIN program or the "Cops and
Docs" initiative, contact ATF’s NIBIN branch at (202) 927-5660. Also, each
ATF field division has a special agent serving as NIBIN coordinator; a call
to the NIBIN branch or to your local ATF field division can put you in touch
with the NIBIN coordinator in your area.
Jennifer C. Budden is a program analyst with the NIBIN program, Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice.
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