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Automated Firearms Identification refers to the use of computers to automate the process of matching a piece of recovered ballistic evidence (which can be either bullets or cartridge cases, or fragments thereof), against a database.
Every firearm leaves unique, reproducible markings on expended (used) bullet and cartridge cases that it fired. The barrel, firing pin, firing chamber, extractor, ejector and other parts of the gun leave these marks, called toolmarks, on the bullet and cartridge case faces. Individually and collectively, these markings function as the “ballistic signature” of the firearm.
Traditional firearms identification involves the use of a Comparison Microscope. A firearms examiner visually compares the ballistic signature of a bullet/cartridge recovered from a crime scene with those in the police files. This process and its outcome, while accurate and acceptable in court, is extremely time consuming. Because of this, its usefulness as an investigative tool is severely limited[ citation needed ].
Automated Ballistic Identification Systems (ABIS) are specialized computer hardware/software combinations designed to capture, store and rapidly compare digital images of bullets and cartridge casings.
ABIS have four key components:
Automated Firearms Identification has its roots in the United States, the country with the highest per capita firearms ownership. [1] [2] In 1993, the Federal Bureau of Investigation commissioned Mnemonics Systems Inc. to develop Drugfire , which enabled law enforcement agencies to capture images of cartridge casings into computers, and automate the process of comparing a suspect cartridge against the database. Drugfire was later upgraded to handle bullet imaging as well.
Also in 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms established its own automated ballistics identification system. Instead of having a custom-made system like the FBI however, ATF opted to build their network on a platform developed by Forensic Technology WAI Inc., a private Canadian company. At the time, the FTI platform was named Bulletproof, and imaged only bullets. It was later upgraded to handle cartridge casings as well, and was then subsequently renamed as the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS).
From 1993 to 1998, the United States had two automated ballistics identification systems in place: Drugfire, which was under the FBI, and IBIS, under the ATF. Although there were attempts to interconnect the two systems under the National Integrated Ballistic Identification Network (NIBIN), the FBI and ATF finally decided in 1999 to phase out Drugfire, and standardize NIBIN on the IBIS platform. This decision was arrived at after a thorough joint FBI-ATF evaluation revealed the superiority of IBIS over the other system.
The adoption of IBIS as the NIBIN standard propelled Forensic Technology as the world’s biggest manufacturer of automated ballistic identification systems. As of 2016, there are more than 700 IBIS systems installed in more than 60 countries worldwide.
There are other ballistic identification systems in the market, such as TopMatch-3D by Cadre Forensics (Chicago, IL), ALIAS by Pyramidal Technologies Ltd, Russia's ARSENAL by Papillon Systems, POISC by SBC Co. Ltd, BalScan by Laboratory Imaging and EVOFINDER by SCANBII Technology. The only ones that took a serious percentage of the market are TopMatch and EVOFINDER. Since 2006, installations of 3D systems have increased. Some of the countries and services which have adopted 3D technology are Switzerland/Zurich, Germany/B.K.A, Brazil/POLICIA CIVIL, Germany/ LKA Magdeburg, Germany/ LKA Munich, Switzerland / KAPO, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada / RCMP, Brazil/Goyania, Colombia, Belgium, Slovenia, Brazil/ Federal Police, Germany/LKA Düsseldorf, Finland, Greece, Kazakhstan, Germany/LKA Brandenburg, Nicaragua, France / I.R.C.G.N, and others.
The lack of a significant installed base may prove to be a substantial issue in the future of these systems. Specifically, this may have an adverse impact on the capability of the developers to refine their systems' correlation algorithms and networking capabilities[ citation needed ].
The correlation algorithm is what enables an Automated Ballistic Identification System to distinguish one bullet/cartridge case from another. Computer simulations alone cannot be relied on in developing a reliable algorithm. At some point, this algorithm must be "field-tested" against a real-life database. The bigger the database against which the developers can test, the more reliable the algorithm. To put it simply, the only way to determine if a correlation algorithm will be able to find a match of a specimen against a database of 1,000,000 entries is to do an actual test against a database of 1,000,000 entries.
In December 2013, The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights launched an International Weapons Law Database, including a search engine per weapons, treaty as well as a glossary. [3]
Automated firearms identification is now a universally accepted technology. As the system with the largest installed base, IBIS has become the de facto world standard.
The emergence of a world standard enables law enforcement agencies worldwide to share ballistic data. This capability is now being leveraged as a tool for international collaboration among law enforcement agencies worldwide. Countries have begun to link up their IBIS systems. Europe already has EURO-IBIS, while the United States recently concluded an agreement to link their NIBIN system with Canada's.
INTERPOL
In early 2009, INTERPOL signed an agreement with Forensic Technology, wherein the latter will install and maintain an IBIS correlation server at INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, France. To facilitate ballistic information sharing among INTERPOL member-countries in Asia, a second IBIS Correlation Server was installed at the INTERPOL Centre for Global Innovation in Singapore in 2015. Countries participating in this program can on voluntary basis share their ballistic data.
Asia is also rapidly catching up with the West. Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India and the Philippines have already deployed IBIS systems.
ABIS do not take over the function of the Firearms Examiner. They were never designed nor intended to do this.
Law enforcement agencies worldwide utilize ABIS to rapidly generate Candidate Lists of probable matches of a suspect bullet/cartridge against the ballistic database. Depending on the agency’s requirements, ABIS will generate the Top 10, Top 20, etc. list of probable matches. The Firearms Examiners then use these candidate lists to select the actual bullets/cartridges they will visually compare with the suspect bullet/cartridge.
In all installations of ABIS worldwide, it is the Firearms Examiners who make the final decision and certification of a ballistic match. Likewise, it is the Firearms Examiners who testify in court.
Ballistics is the field of mechanics concerned with the launching, flight behaviour and impact effects of projectiles, especially ranged weapon munitions such as bullets, unguided bombs, rockets or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.
Ballistic gelatin is a testing medium designed to simulate the effects of bullet wounds in animal muscle tissue. It was developed and improved by Martin Fackler and others in the field of wound ballistics. It is calibrated to match pig muscle, which is ballistically similar to human muscle tissue.
The 9×19mm Parabellum is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge.
The chamber of a firearm is the cavity at the back end of a breechloading weapon's barrel or cylinder, where the ammunition is inserted before being fired. The rear opening of the chamber is the breech, and is sealed by the breechblock or the bolt.
Automated fingerprint identification is the process of using a computer to match fingerprints against a database of known and unknown prints in the fingerprint identification system. Automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) are primarily used by law enforcement agencies for criminal identification purposes, the most important of which is the identification of a person suspected of committing a crime or linking a suspect to other unsolved crimes.
Martin L. Fackler (1933–2015) was an American military officer, surgeon and wound ballistics expert. He served in the U.S Navy from 1960 to 1975 and in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1991. He was a field surgeon at the Naval Support Hospitals at Da Nang, Vietnam and at Yokosuka, Japan, and later a colonel in the US Army's Medical Corps. He was the founder and head of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory for the Letterman Army Institute of Research from 1981 to 1991. He was a member and leader of numerous distinguished organizations, among them the International Wound Ballistics Association, the French Wound Ballistics Society and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Dr. Fackler had numerous teaching appointments and was the author of over 300 publications in regards to wound ballistics, body armor, and treatment of injuries for both the military and civilian populations. He is credited with a number of contributions to the field of terminal ballistics, including:
The 5.45×39mm cartridge is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge. It was introduced into service in 1974 by the Soviet Union for use with the new AK-74. The 5.45×39mm gradually supplemented and then largely replaced the 7.62×39mm cartridge in Soviet and Warsaw Pact service as the primary military service rifle cartridge.
Gunshot residue (GSR), also known as cartridge discharge residue (CDR), gunfire residue (GFR), or firearm discharge residue (FDR), consists of all of the particles that are expelled from the muzzle of a gun following the discharge of a bullet. It is principally composed of burnt and unburnt particles from the explosive primer, the propellant (gunpowder), and vaporized lead. The act of firing a bullet incites a very violent explosive reaction that is contained within the barrel of the gun, which can cause the bullet, the barrel, or the cartridge to become chipped. Meaning gunshot residue may also included metal fragments from the cartridge casing, the bullets jacket, as well as any other dirt or residue contained within the barrel that could have become dislodged.
The .475 Wildey Magnum is a large semi-automatic pistol cartridge designed for big game hunting in the Wildey pistol.
Handgun effectiveness is a measure of the stopping power of a handgun: its ability to incapacitate a hostile target as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Microstamping is a proprietary ballistics identification technology. Microscopic markings are engraved onto the tip of the firing pin and onto the breech face of a firearm with a laser. When the gun is fired, these etchings are transferred to the primer by the firing pin and to the cartridge case head by the breech face, using the pressure created when a round is fired. After being fired, if the cases are recovered by police, the microscopic markings imprinted on the cartridges can then be examined by forensic ballistics experts to help trace the firearm to the last registered owner. A California law requiring the use of microstamping technology in all new semiautomatic firearms sold in the state has attracted controversy.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to forensic science:
QuickLOAD is an internal ballistics predictor computer program for firearms.
Calvin Hooker Goddard was a forensic scientist, army officer, academic, researcher and a pioneer in forensic ballistics. He examined the bullet casings in the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre and showed that the guns used were not police issued weapons, leading the investigators to conclude it was a mob hit.
A comparison microscope is a device used to analyze side-by-side specimens. It consists of two microscopes connected by an optical bridge, which results in a split view window enabling two separate objects to be viewed simultaneously. This avoids the observer having to rely on memory when comparing two objects under a conventional microscope.
The Integrated Ballistics Identification System, or IBIS, is the brand of the Automated firearms identification system manufactured by Forensic Technology WAI, Inc., of Montreal, Canada.
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network or NIBIN is a specialized computer network in the United States. It contains digital images of recovered pieces of ballistic evidence.
Drugfire is a multimedia database imaging system that automates the comparison of images of bullet cartridge cases, shell casings and bullets that was developed by MSI. It is a multimedia database imaging system that allows examiners from across the United States to compare and link evidence obtained in the form of spent cartridges and other ammunition casings.
The National Ballistics Intelligence Service, or NABIS, is a British intelligence service dedicated to managing and providing detailed information regarding firearm-related criminality. The service aims to use its database to store ballistics information about police cases involving firearms, and consequently maintain it for future use and reference. The service operates four facilities to test and analyse firearms evidence to help link it with other cases. These are based in Birmingham, London,Manchester and at Gartcosh in the Scottish Crime Campus in the town.
Forensic firearm examination is the forensic process of examining the characteristics of firearms or bullets left behind at a crime scene. Specialists in this field try to link bullets to weapons and weapons to individuals. They can raise and record obliterated serial numbers in an attempt to find the registered owner of a weapon and look for fingerprints on a weapon and cartridges.