National Integrated Ballistic Information Network

NIBIN at the Odessa Police Department


OPD partnered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in 2020 to combat gun violence within our City and the Permian Basin region. 

Currently, we maintain two certified NIBIN specialists, who receive, process, and enter information into the NIBIN system. 

Shell casings and firearms that are recovered during investigations are entered into the system with the intent of linking multiple violent gun crime offenses together to be most impactful in our investigations and resource allocation. 

Leads are received if a firearm has been linked to other shootings and this enables our Detectives to identify and apprehend habitual gun violence offenders. 
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How NIBIN works:


NIBIN technology compares images of submitted ballistic evidence from shooting scenes and recovered firearms and produces a list of possible similar results. NIBIN technicians then conduct a correlation review of these results, identifying NIBIN leads or potential links or associations from the same firearm. A NIBIN lead is an unconfirmed, potential association between two or more pieces of firearm ballistic evidence and is based on a correlation review of the digital images in the NIBIN database.

When needed for court or other purposes, a firearms examiner will conduct a microscopic examination of the actual physical evidence to confirm a NIBIN lead as a hit. A NIBIN hit occurs when two or more firearms ballistic evidence acquisitions are identified as a confirmed match by a firearms examiner. The data is then compiled into intelligence reports that are used for investigations and court cases.