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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Cmdr. Jack Fichtel
DATE: January 24, 2022
SUBJECT:
Resolution authorizing the City of Aurora Police Department to enter a contract with Forensic Technology, Inc. for a five-year warranty on the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) that is housed at the Aurora Police Department.
PURPOSE:
Forensic Technology, Inc. is the manufacturer of equipment that is used as part of the NIBIN program. The machines that were delivered to the Aurora Police Department in 2018 came with an initial warranty, which is set to expire in May of 2022.In order to keep the equipment running at optimal performance, the police department is seeking funds to purchase a five-year extended warranty.
BACKGROUND:
In 2018, the Aurora Police Department entered in a partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to house NIBIN equipment. The initial delivery of the equipment came with an initial warranty which will expire in May 2022.
DISCUSSION:
The Aurora Police Department since 2006 has housed and ATF-APD Fox Valley Gang Crimes Task Force, which has been a highly successful partnership combatting violent, gang and gun crimes. Through this partnership, the ATF identified the Aurora Police Department, and surrounding jurisdictions, as a location that would benefit from NIBIN technology. NIBIN, which stands for the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, is a tool to help law enforcement to establish investigative leads from ballistic evidence.
To understand NIBIN it is important to understand how it works. When a gun is made, the manufacturing equipment etches microscopic markings - somewhat like fingerprints - onto the gun's metal parts. These markings, called tool marks, are transferred to a bullet or cartridge case when the gun is fired.
When law enforcement investigates crimes in which firearms are used, ballistic imaging of such bullets and cartridge cases can be important in solving crime....
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