IBIS / NIBIN
Definition
Integrated Ballistic Identification System (Forensic Technology Inc., Canada) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)'s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. Automated 3D imaging and correlation of bullet and case images across a database.
- IBIS vendor
- Forensic Technology Inc., Canada
- NIBIN operator
- US ATF
- Function
- 3D imaging and correlation of bullets and cases
- Relationship
- NIBIN runs on IBIS hardware and software
Common questions
Is NIBIN a separate technology from IBIS?+
No, NIBIN is the ATF's operational network built on the IBIS platform; IBIS is the underlying imaging and correlation system, while NIBIN refers to the US programme and database that deploys it nationally.
What happens after NIBIN returns a candidate hit?+
A trained firearms examiner performs a manual microscopic comparison of the physical cartridge cases or bullets, since the automated correlation score alone is an investigative lead, not a courtroom identification.
Related terms
- AFTE Conclusion Scale
- Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners scale: identification, inconclusive (subdivided A, B, C), elimination, unsuitable. The court-admissible vocabulary.
- Breech Face
- The forward surface of the bolt, slide, or breech block that seals the chamber and contacts the cartridge case head during firing....
- Class Characteristics
- Features deliberately or systematically imparted to a group of items by design or manufacture, such as the calibre of a bullet, the...
- 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...
- Individual Characteristics
- Surface features on a fired bullet or cartridge case that arise from random or unique events (tool wear, corrosion, service damage) and...
- Rifling
- The helical groove pattern cut into a firearm barrel that imparts spin to the bullet, stabilising it in flight. Rifling lands and...
- Subclass Characteristics
- Features common to a small batch of weapons made with the same tool before the tool wore out. Sit between class and...