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 , 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 . 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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