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Morgan, Anthony and Penny Jorna. 2018 ‘Impact of Ballistic Evidence on Criminal Investigations.’ Impact of Ballistic Evidence on Criminal Investigations, pp. 4-5. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC). 14 May

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The first automated ballistic system to be used in Australia was introduced in NSW [New South Wales] in 2000. The NSW Police Force (NSWPF) adopted the IBIS technology in 2000 in response to increasing levels of firearm-related crime throughout the 1990s. A number of other jurisdictions then adopted the technology between 2007 and 2013. The first was the Australian Federal Police, followed by South Australia Police in 2012 and the Queensland Police Service in 2013. While these jurisdictions had access to automated ballistic identification systems, they were not linked. In July 2014, the Australian Ballistics Information Network (ABIN) became fully operational as a national system. The ABIN is managed by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and uses the IBIS technology to provide a national automated ballistic information system to Australian police agencies, thereby enabling both local and national cold hits.

There are more than 60,000 exhibits—projectiles and cartridge cases—currently stored within the ABIN, of which 70 percent relate to criminal matters. As at the end of October 2016, there have been 845 cold hits obtained since automated ballistic systems were first introduced in Australia (by the NSWPF in 2000). In the 22 months following July 2014, when the ABIN was first implemented, there were 208 cold hits—equivalent to 1.7 cold hits per week. This includes 15 national hits (i.e. hits between cases in at least two police jurisdictions), which is reportedly more than occurred in the entire decade prior to the ABIN being available. However, what is not clear from these data is whether these cold hits have benefited investigators by increasing the amount of evidence available from linked investigations.

ID: Q15854

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