NIBIN may be expanded beyond Phoenix
Posted by Andre Demers on Wed, May 12, 2010
The Arizona Republic recently published a story describing how the successes of the NIBIN program in Phoenix could soon make their way to other Arizona cities.
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network database, which catalogues weapons and helps investigators link evidence from multiple crime scenes, is touted as key technology in a major metropolitan area. Shootings in Phoenix spill into other communities and vice versa.
Phoenix police enter more than 7,000 firearms into the NIBIN system each year. Crime scene investigators enter the evidence as quickly as days or up to a week after a crime occurs, enabling detectives to use 3-D imaging and other technology to compare spent shell casings with evidence in the system, which spans the country.
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"It can help link crime scenes that wouldn't have otherwise been linked together," said Sgt. Brandon Huntley, a gun squad supervisor who oversees the NIBIN program at the Phoenix Police Department.
"Firearms leave markings on the shell casings that are similar to fingerprints or DNA," Huntley said.
Read the full article "Phoenix crime-gun database could expand to other Valley cities" here.