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California Legislature Approves Ballistics Evidence Bill

Friday, September 14, 2007 at 12:55 AM | Go to website

Sacramento - The California State Senate late Tuesday gave final legislative approval to Senate Bill 248 authored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-Los Angeles).  The bill now goes to the Governor's desk.  SB 248 requires that the Attorney General work with interested local law enforcement agencies to develop a protocol that will facilitate their use of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).  The intent of the bill is to increase the sharing of ballistic evidence among law enforcement agencies through NIBIN. 

“The FBI’s DNA and fingerprint databases have significantly aided law enforcement in solving crime.  With expanded use across the state, NIBIN has the potential to do the same,” said Senator Padilla.

“This technology can help law enforcement solve crimes and apprehend violent criminals. It can be a powerful tool for law enforcement agencies to reduce gang related shooting crimes,” Padilla added.

NIBIN equipment allows a firearm technician to acquire digital images of the marking made by a firearm on bullets and cartridge casings; the images then undergo automated initial comparison.  If a high-confidence candidate emerges, firearms examiners compare the original evidence to confirm a match.  By minimizing the amount of non-matching evidence that a firearm examiner must inspect to find a confirmable match, the NIBIN system enables law enforcement agencies to discover links between crimes more quickly, including links that would have been lost without the technology.

In California, there are currently twenty six law enforcement sites with NIBIN equipment and personnel who enter evidence and test firing information into the NIBIN database. The ATF provides grant funding to agencies to install NIBIN equipment based on population size and need.

Since 2001, 2,842 “hits” (two or more crime or arrest events that are matched by forensic firearm evidence) have been made.  Such hits can result in coordination among law enforcement agencies that can help solve otherwise stalled crime investigations.