IBIS — integrated computer system for ballistic examination.
Vadim Antoninovich Shelkov
IBIS — INTEGRATED COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR BALLISTIC EXPERTISE
Source: magazine «Special Equipment»
At the MILIPOL exhibition held last fall in Paris, forensic equipment was presented rather sparingly. The French police and gendarmerie presented spectacular imitations of crime scenes with all the usual attributes: “bodies of victims,” cars riddled with bullets, fingerprints, open crime suitcases and measuring tapes. Numerous visitors besieged the Colt and Browning stands, looking with interest at armored BMWs and inflatable motorboats for special forces with outboard motors with a capacity of almost 300 horsepower.
The exhibit by the American company Forensic Technology Inc. was not as impressive, however, a couple of computers and several devices for them, with the IBIS (Integrated Ballistic Identification System) ballistic examination system installed on them, demonstrated a significant achievement by American scientists, which has received recognition from forensic experts in many countries.
The IBIS system, created by Forensic Technology Inc.1, is a high-performance automated system that allows forensic experts to quickly respond to the constant increase in the number of objects submitted for ballistic examination. At the same time, not only are material costs reduced, but the need for qualified personnel is also reduced.
Note
1. Forensic Technology Inc. (1901 Research Blvd., Suite 250 Rockville, Md. 20850 USA) – a division of The Walsh Group was formed in the late 1990s to adapt modern tools and methods of information processing, and other scientific achievements to solve various problems arising in forensic investigations. Forensic Technology Inc. is the developer and supplier of the IBIS forensic system, which can rightfully be considered the most significant contribution to the efficiency of forensic weapons examinations since the first use of the comparative microscope by Goddard in 1925.
The IBIS system takes full advantage of computer technology to process a significant amount of data on the use of firearms. It allows not only to record graphic information about bullets and cartridges found at the scene of the incident, but also to conduct its automatic analysis and comparison with the corresponding databases. Like fingerprints, fired bullets and cartridges bear characteristic marks that are unique in each specific case. Sometimes called a “ballistic signature”, these marks are used to determine the correspondence between bullets, cartridges and the weapon from which they may have been fired.
Technically, the IBIS system is a specialized workstation for receiving, storing, processing and analyzing and comparing images of such specific physical evidence as bullets and cartridges found at a crime scene. The IBIS system is installed on computers with a Pentium processor running Windows NT, as well as on Silicon Graphics servers.
In essence, the IBIS system “opened” the computer era in the field of forensic science that deals with ballistic examinations, similar to what was done in its time with the AFIS2 system and the process of studying fingerprints.
Note
2. AFIS (Automatic Fingerprint Identification System) — automatic (computerized) fingerprint comparison system
The system consists of two workstations: Data Acquisition Station — DAS (Data Acquisition Station, photo 1) and Electronic Signature Analysis Station — SAS (Signature Analysis Station, photo 2).
Photo 1. Data Acquisition Station (DAS)
Photo 2. Electronic Signature Analysis Station (SAS)
DAS is responsible for receiving graphic information and entering it into the computer's memory. SAS is a multitasking operating system that actually compares the «electronic images» of bullets and cartridges.
IBIS includes two software modules: BULLETPROOF for bullet analysis and BRASSCATCHER for identifying spent cartridges. The BULLETPROOF and BRASSCATCHER programs extract all the necessary information from these images in the form of a kind of electronic signature. This electronic signature is compared with the database of electronic signatures of other material evidence previously entered into the system's memory using the appropriate algorithm.
Usually, bullets and cartridges found at the crime scene are deformed, and bullets are often even crushed into fragments. However, the algorithm used in the IBIS system allows for identification even in this case. It is based on the comparison of individual characteristic areas — the «land engraved area» of the barrel rifling. The undoubted advantages of the BULLETPROOF program include the ability to scan and enter into the computer's memory bullets and cartridges of virtually any system and caliber.
The IBIS system automatically compares the bullets and cartridges found at the crime scene with the database in the memory and performs a kind of ranking in accordance with the degree of similarity of the evidence. The expert is freed from tedious, unproductive routine work, and can thus devote his time to a thorough examination of the selected evidence on a comparative microscope.
By connecting computers in a network, an expert has a unique opportunity to conduct a comparative analysis in a surprisingly short period of time not only on local, but also on national and even international databases containing millions of cases of firearms use. At the same time, many old cases stored in an electronic archive and unrelated at first glance find their unexpected continuation when compared with new data obtained in the course of working with IBIS. IBIS has the ability to store in memory a huge number of samples: images of bullets and cartridges, which allows for a quick comparison of all new receipts with the data available in the database. Thus, it becomes possible to establish connections between crimes that, at first glance, were not obvious.
The IBIS system is based on a mathematical model that is created on the basis of scanned images of material evidence in the form of a kind of electronic signature and comparison (correlation) of possible matches with bullets and cartridges from the database accumulated during the work. The correlation algorithm produces a certain numerical value based on the degree of similarity between the sample image and each of the new material evidence. Thus, a list of the closest candidates is created in ascending or descending order by the degree of similarity of some characteristic features. To work with IBIS, no involvement of specialists in ballistic expertise is required.
Despite the fact that IBIS is a complex combination of hardware and corresponding software, its operation is surprisingly simple and does not require special knowledge in the field of computers. The IBIS system is fully automated and allows trained personnel, even non-experts, to obtain reference images and compare them.
Since the acquisition of images is automated, a large number of bullets and cartridges found at a crime scene can be entered into the system in a short time. Images corresponding to a specific cartridge or bullet appear on a high-resolution monitor, allowing for rapid examination of the evidence. The operator has the ability to work with two images simultaneously on the display screen, selecting the most suitable samples for subsequent examination on a comparison microscope.
The IBIS system allows you to work based only on the electronic signatures of the obtained material evidence — bullets and cartridges found at the crime scene. However, additional information, such as the parameters of the rifling traces, the direction of rotation or the shape of the striker imprint on the cartridge case can significantly reduce the time spent on searching and comparing analogues.
Generally speaking, the whole process is quite fast. The found bullets are glued to the holder and installed in the device (photo 3), and the cartridges are secured in a special collet clamp. Along the way, the operator enters the relevant additional information: case number, test shooting result, presence of victims, etc. The caliber and manufacturer of the weapon are selected using the menu from the database.
Photo 3. BULLETPROOF & BRASSCATCHER – a device for electronic photography of bullets and cartridges.
1. Automatic object illumination adjustment device in the BULLETPROOF module
2. BULLETPROOF laser focusing device
3. Automatic bullet rotation device
4. Automatic focusing system in the BRASSCATCHER module
5. Automatic “zooming” system in the BRASSCATCHER module
6. Automatic cartridge case illumination adjustment device
7. Automatic X-Y coordinate axes movement device in the BULLETPROOF and BRASSCATCHER modules
During the examination, the evidence is photographed with a digital camera. Focusing is performed by an autofocus system using an auxiliary optical laser. The resulting images are transmitted to the SAS analysis software block, where complex software compares and identifies individual sections of the images.
The process of analyzing spent cartridges is similar to the above, with the only difference being that it is performed using a different device. In the IBIS system, both the firing pin impression and the cartridge base configuration are photographed, since both contain unique information that allows identification of material evidence.
The additional rapid identification system of RBI (Rapid Brass Identification) cartridges allows for identification directly at the scene of the incident, in a small laboratory or police station. It is a system for obtaining computer images of the detected cartridges. All the necessary equipment and software is in one case (photo 4).
Photo 4. Additional rapid identification system of RBI (Rapid Brass Identification) cartridges
Using the BRASSCATCHER methodology used in the main IBIS system, RBI can obtain images of the firing pin marks (central or edge), the image of the cartridge case base, as well as the extractor marks directly at the scene of the incident. For comparison, this data is transmitted to the main laboratory, where the main IBIS system is installed, via a suitable communication line via a modem or even a cell phone.
Back in 1993, the US Federal Agency for Control of Distribution of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) conducted a comparison of various ballistics systems. After a thorough analysis, the Agency settled on the IBIS system and installed it in the ATF crime lab in Atlanta. Trial operation confirmed its effectiveness, and it was recommended for installation in the birthplace of jazz in New Orleans. At that time, New Orleans ranked first in the United States in the number of murders. The IBIS system was supposed to significantly increase the effectiveness of the police department in the fight against the most violent crimes.
In 1996, it was launched and became the basis of a new ballistics lab equipped with the latest technology. Currently, the lab conducts about two thousand test firings of weapons per year, and the results are entered into the IBIS system memory. First, each “barrel”, fired cartridge case and bullet is compared with the IBIS database, and only then do experts conduct a detailed study on a comparative microscope. The results of the study are assigned a kind of weighting coefficient corresponding to the degree of coincidence with the samples in the database. Previously, such studies relied mainly on the memory of the operative and the expert, and the productivity was significantly lower. According to an employee of the New Orleans Police Department, images of bullets and cartridge cases found at the scene of the crime are entered into the DAS during the day, and comparison and analysis are carried out at night and are always ready by the morning.
The IBIS system never forgets anything.