In 1999, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) established and began administration of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. 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. Partners use Integrated Ballistic Identification Systems to acquire digital images of the markings made on spent ammunition recovered from a crime scene or a crime gun test fire and then compare those images against earlier entries via electronic image comparison. If a high-confidence candidate for a match emerges, firearms examiners compare the original evidence with a microscope to confirm the match. == See also ==