Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) is taking a proactive stance in the fight against deadly shootings and gun violence by incorporating a powerful new tool that promises to connect crimes, apprehend criminals and ensure public safety.
That tool is the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), a ballistics database that is already making a significant impact, and has been described by law enforcement as a “game changer.”
For instance, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost believes that NIBIN could have a substantial impact on reducing gun violence.
“We could have a major impact on the population of people that are using guns to commit violent crime. That’s my goal, get these folks off the street, drive the crime rate down,” Yost said.
The NIBIN technology works through a multistep process. First, lab technicians examine the evidence and group similar firearms together based on their characteristics. They then select representative samples from each group and enter them into the system. During the firing process, unique details from the firearm are impressed on the primer, creating a distinct “fingerprint” for that specific gun.
These firearm photos are compared to a vast database of images from Ohio and across the United States. By matching the images, forensic scientists can link crimes and suspects more efficiently.
“It can really provide leads and linkages to crimes that otherwise could be left unlinked and unresolved because of it,” said Jordan Gardner, a forensic laboratory technician in the NIBIN lab at BCI.
Already, Ohio has seen successful outcomes with NIBIN.
“We were actually able to link seven different Columbus cases together,” NIBIN technician Lauren Van Dyne said. “They didn’t really have much that they were going off of, and then a case came in here that you know, we did our acquisition and our correlation, and we ended up getting the firearm, and so we were able to link the firearms to those seven different Columbus cases.”
Local law enforcement agencies have welcomed the expanded access to NIBIN, as it aids them in solving gun-related crimes more quickly and efficiently.
Indeed, cartridge cases found at crime scenes act as fingerprints, and NIBIN’s scanning and comparison process can provide valuable leads and connections to otherwise unsolved cases.
Ohio’s NIBIN lab at BCI, one of three locations, recently added five machines connected to the ATF-operated database. The quick turnaround time of NIBIN, typically five days, allows for faster identification and arrest of criminals to prevent further acts of violence.
Yost added that while NIBIN is a valuable tool, traditional police work is still essential in solving crimes and making arrests.
“It’s still going to take shoe leather. It’s going to take old-fashioned police work to get to the point where we’ve got handcuffs on somebody and a charge in court, but that’s the direction we’re going,” he said.
The importance of NIBIN in curbing violent crime is more significant than ever, particularly after a recent mass shooting in Cleveland that injured nine people.
Yost is confident that NIBIN will play a crucial role in addressing such tragic incidents and bringing justice to the victims and their families.
“What happened here in Cleveland is awful, it’s everyone’s worst nightmare. Violence erupts on a city street like that. That’s not a one-off crime of passion, where people are settling a grudge, it’s the kind of thing where innocent people can get caught in the crossfire,” he said.
With the continuous addition of information to the database, NIBIN’s potential for future success will only increase.
