Submitting Crime Gun Ballistics

The Firearms Identification Unit (FIU) of the Philadelphia Police Department analyzes and investigates ballistic evidence such as bullets and fired cartridge cases collected from crime scenes and crime guns.¹Philadelphia Police Department, Office of Forensic Science, accessed October 9, 2019, http://bit.ly/31v0XUG. FIU is a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network  (NIBIN) site and is also one of the first firearm-focused units in the country.²Ibid. FIU submits all ballistic evidence to NIBIN for analysis. NIBIN’s database of ballistic evidence can match FIU’s submissions with other crimes and generate actionable intelligence leads to  FIU.

FIU submits approximately 65,000 bullets and shell casings to NIBIN every year.³NBC10 Investigators, “65,000 Dots: Connecting Crimes Through Bullets, with Help of ATF in Philadelphia,” NBC10 (Philadelphia), May 18, 2018, http://bit.ly/2MVfkMO. In 2017, the police department submitted ballistic evidence from over 27,000 crime scenes, resulting in 921 investigative leads. In the first two quarters of 2018, over 15,000 cases were submitted to NIBIN, resulting in 669 investigative leads.⁴Philadelphia Police Department Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Testimony, May 1, 2018, https://bit.ly/2owqq2K Even when a NIBIN submission does not result in an immediate lead, the police department’s practice of submitting all ballistic evidence helps to build the national database, which could link evidence to future crimes.