National Integrated Ballistic Information Network

Running on the Integrated Ballistic Identification System or IBIS platform, NIBIN enables U.S. law enforcers to rapidly determine if a piece of recovered ballistic evidence came from a firearm that has been previously used in a crime.

[1] Using NIBIN, law enforcement staff can identify firearms in new cases that were used in prior incidents.

A series of seventeen different Washington state crime scenes involving seven firearms, and three different agencies in two counties, was identified using information provided by IBIS/NIBIN.

[2] In 1999, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) established and began administration of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.

[3] In this program, ATF administers automated ballistic imaging technology for law enforcement, forensic science, and attorney agencies in the United States that have entered into a formal agreement with ATF to enter ballistic information into NIBIN.