IBIS
Definition
Integrated Ballistics Identification System: an image-based database platform used by multiple countries to store and compare fired cartridge cases and bullets from crime scenes. Algorithmic comparison generates candidate matches for human review.
- Full name
- Integrated Ballistics Identification System
- Type
- Image-based comparison database
- Input
- Fired cartridge cases and bullets
- Output
- Ranked candidate matches for examiner review
Common questions
Can IBIS itself confirm a match between two exhibits?+
No. It ranks stored images by correlation score and surfaces the most similar candidates, but a trained examiner must still perform microscopic comparison of the physical evidence to reach an identification conclusion.
Why is IBIS relevant to wildlife poaching cases specifically?+
Recovered bullets or cases from poaching scenes can be searched against entries from other incidents, helping investigators link separate poaching events to the same firearm even without a suspect weapon in hand.
Related terms
- Cartridge Case Markings
- Impressions left on a fired cartridge case by the breech face, firing pin, extractor, and ejector of the firearm. Like rifling marks...
- Comparison Microscope
- Two compound microscope bodies connected by an optical bridge that presents one half of each body's image in a single split eyepiece...
- Rifling
- The helical groove pattern cut into a firearm barrel that imparts spin to the bullet, stabilising it in flight. Rifling lands and...
- Striation Marks
- Fine parallel scratches on a fired bullet's surface produced by microscopic irregularities in the barrel's rifling. The pattern is individual to that...
- Wound Track
- The path of tissue disruption left by a projectile passing through a body. Consists of a permanent cavity (crushed tissue) and a...