nothin NHPD Seeks To Buy Gun Analysis Tool | New Haven Independent

NHPD Seeks To Buy Gun Analysis Tool

Bruce Oren File Photo

Police at scene of a shooting on the Boulevard.

The New Haven Police Department is poised to acquire a ballistic analysis machine — meaning that bullet casings will no longer have to travel from New Haven to other municipalities for a technology-driven firearms investigation.

At Tuesday evening’s Police Commission meeting, outgoing Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez reported that the department plans to purchase the NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistic Information Network) machine, pending approval from the Board of Alders.

The department aim to purchase the technology with about $100,000 from a federal Gun Crime Intelligence Center grant from last year, according to Dominguez.

NIBIN kiosks can compare shell casing evidence to a database of entries managed by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The technology takes advantage of the imprints that a firearm leaves on each bullet it shoots out, identifying and matching those marks like a fingerprint. 

The NHPD already uses NIBIN technology to investigate gun violence — by traveling to other parts of the state where kiosks are currently located. A New Haven-based NIBIN machine would be located at police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. 

Currently, Dominguez told commissioners, it takes about 24 to 72 hours for New Haven police to receive NIBIN analysis results from other cities. For instance, in an April shooting in front of a preschool, Dr. Reginald Mayo Early Learning Center, it took two or three days to receive NIBIN results for those casings. Had we had our own machine, we would have been able to … run it the same day,” Dominguez said.

Chief Dominguez at Tuesday night's Board of Commissioners meeting.

A NIBIN match between a casing and a gun is not necessarily a certain identification. As NPR reported, a Mississippi man found judicial relief hours before his planned execution when the FBI stated that experts in his case had overstated the reliability of firearm examination science.

The science regarding firearms examinations does not permit examiner testimony that a specific gun fired a specific bullet to the exclusion of all other guns in the world,” the Bureau wrote.

Still, the technology can be a useful tool in tandem with other pieces of evidence. 

It may not be exact, but it’s very helpful in narrowing down and ruling people out,” said Mike Lawlor, a New Haven police commissioner, University of New Haven professor, and former state policymaker who focused on criminal justice reform. By itself, it could never be the sole basis of convicting someone for a crime, but it’s evidence … It’s more likely than not gonna exclude innocent people.”

I think more technology saves time,” Lawlor added. It cuts out the middleman.”

The NIBIN purchase is part of a broader effort to streamline and expand technology-driven policing during Dominguez’ tenure in New Haven. Dominguez has also oversaw the growth of the city’s ShotSpotter program and surveillance camera presence.

Tags:

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.


Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

Avatar for alluneedtoknow

Avatar for Heather C.