NCJ Number
181753
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 86-89
Date Published
February 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The South African Police Service ranks crimes involving firearms as a policing priority and has selected the Integrated Ballistics Identification system (IBIS) from Forensic Technology Inc. (FTI) of Rockville, Md., to automate the ballistics tracking process.
Abstract
The company installed IBIS in Pretoria, Durban, Capetown, and Port Elizabeth laboratories during the summer of 1997 and trained operators onsite after the installation, using actual evidence. It networked the systems together by modem. IBIS includes two functional software elements. BULLETPROOF analyzes bullets; BRASSCATCHER identifies cartridge cases. The system uses a standard Oracle relational database for ease of querying and swapping data with other computers. Networking occurs via high-speed, commercially available network lines; data transmission uses the standard Internet protocol. The system now contains more than 20,000 pieces of evidence. The Durban laboratory had experienced 309 bonafide hits and linked 44 firearms to crimes committed within the province through April 1999. The other laboratories have also achieved hits. Information on a hit goes immediately to the detective responsible for the case. The data are useful in identifying crime hot spots. The growing number of hits makes it useful to track evidence matches between crime scenes. Therefore, the South African Police Service plans to develop a formal tracking system. It is also considering establishing additional data acquisition stations. Photographs