Introduction
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) provides training to law enforcement agencies for users of the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN); specifically, ATF offers training courses in the triage and acquisition of cartridge cases for the BrassTRAX system and the basics of performing correlation reviews on the MatchPoint Plus. Please note that with the Minimum Required Operating Standards (MROS) effective July 2018, NIBIN users must complete authorized training outlined below in order to access the Network and perform acquisitions and/or correlations.
Considerations for Potential Trainees
Availability: Trainees should perform acquisitions daily for at least 1-2 months after training to reinforce their skills. Agencies with multiple trainees should stagger their training to allow this.
Computer Skills: Trainees must be able to navigate the software intuitively to generate reports and perform other desired functions.
Firearm Familiarity: The training will cover recognizing the various marks firearms produce, so trainees will not need overt familiarity unless they will also conduct test fires.
Monitoring: ATF will monitor the acquisitions of newly trained operators for quality assurance purposes and expects that new operators and their supervisors will be open to any potential remedial training deemed necessary.
Available Training Options
Authorized training for NIBIN users is provided by ATF at the NIBIN National Correlation and Training Center (NNCTC) in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition, authorized training may be offered locally by Forensic Technology, Inc. or a NIBIN Authorized Trainer (NAT, acquisitions only). Please see below for these training options.
1. Contact the NIBIN National Correlation and Training Center (NNCTC) to schedule training at the NNCTC in Huntsville, Alabama, (256) 970-3995 or nibin-training@atf.gov.
- Arrange necessary travel funding (ATF provides the actual training at no cost).
- Submit contact information (name, phone, email) for trainees and their supervisors.
- Trainees must complete a pre-course training packet at least 2 weeks before training.
- Training will take 4 full days for the NIBIN Triage & Acquisition Course and 8 days for the NIBIN Correlation Review Course. Both will include a competency test.
2. Contact Forensic Technology, Inc., (FTI) directly for on-site training, training@ultra-ft.com. ATF will administer a competency test after training.
3. Contact Contact your local NIBIN Authorized Trainer (NAT) for acquisition training locally. The NNCTC also maintains a list of NATs nationwide.
- Submit the name of a local qualified trainer for ATF approval to the NNCTC.
- Submit contact information (name, phone, email) for trainees and their supervisors to the NNCTC.
- Trainees must complete a pre-course training packet at least 2 weeks before training.
- ATF will supply a training kit and competency test. (Please return after training.)
- ATF may review images from training and will be the approver of the competency test.
NIBIN MROS
- Minimum Required Operating Standards (MROS) for NIBIN Sites: Outlines the minimum operating requirements that sites accessing and utilizing NIBIN shall follow to ensure the quality and integrity of the ballistic data shared on the network.
- Minimum Required Operating Standards (MROS) Audit Document: Defines and interprets each standard as outlined in the MROS Audit Standards, with added discussion points clarifying the criteria necessary for compliance.
- Best Practices for NIBIN Sites: Outlines the recommended best practices that NIBIN sites should follow which are based on the four critical steps of comprehensive collection, timeliness, investigative follow-up, and feedback.