Ballistics Study Leads to Changes at Federal Agency

A team of researchers led by Sam Houston State University identified a number of areas of improvement in a national database of forensic ballistics evidence used to link guns to violent crimes.

The report, just released by the National Institute of Justice, already has led to improvements in the system called the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which is operated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

NIBIN is the only nationwide database that allows for the comparison of ballistics evidence in criminal cases, either to assist in identifying a suspect or to link firearms to different crimes. Firearms examiners at state and local crime laboratories compare tool marks on fired bullets or cartridges found at a crime scene to digitized images of ballistic evidence in the nationwide, NIBIN database.

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