WIREDGOV

New weapon in the fight against gun crime

HOME OFFICE News Release (066/2008) issued by The Government News Network on 10 March 2008

The new National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) was today seen by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on a Tackling Gangs Action Programme visit to West Midlands Police.

The £8 million NABIS will deliver, for the first time, world-class comprehensive forensic information to identify weapons and link gun crime incidents. It will roll-out incrementally from April this year and be fully operational by September. The state-of-the-art national database will operate via three hubs in Birmingham, London and Manchester and will include:

* A complete registry of all recovered guns and ammunition coming into police possession in England and Wales;
* A ballistics comparison capability to link crimes and incidents within 24 to 48 hours; and
* Intelligence relating to suspects, weapons, locations and incidents.
Scientists and technicians employed within the hubs will provide rapid intelligence to investigators that will link the criminal use of firearms and speed up criminal investigations. The intelligence gathered by NABIS will also be used to proactively prevent and detect the importation and manufacture of illegal firearms and ammunition into and within the UK.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

"I am determined to tackle gun crime and get guns off our streets. The new National Ballistics Intelligence Service gives us a vital new tool. For the first time, it will give a complete picture and detailed analysis of any guns and ammunition recovered from incidents.

"In linking bullets to guns and guns to incidents and to criminals, it will lift the curtain on the shady world of gun toting criminals and gangs helping police to get them and their weapons off our streets."

NABIS has initially been jointly funded by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers, with an investment of £5.5 million. The Association of Chief Police Officers will be funding the service for a further £2.5 million per year.

David Shaw, Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and the Association of Chief Police Officers lead on NABIS said:
"The National Ballistics Intelligence Service will be a valuable tool to assist the police in dealing with gun crime effectively.

"The efficient intelligence that will be provided by NABIS will help the police to detect the perpetrators of gun crime quickly, allowing us to remove them and the guns from our streets.

"In time, this mechanism will help prevent gun crime and restore confidence and reassurance to communities across the country."

Today's visit is part of the Tackling Gangs Action Programme, which the Home Secretary launched in September 2007. It is the fourth visit to the areas identified by the police as suffering disproportionately from gun and gang crime - London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.

These areas have received Government funding worth a total of £200,000 for a month of activity by police, councils and local partners throughout March. The focus will be on prevention and diversion work in neighbourhoods of each of the four areas, including music classes and anti-violence programmes.

NOTES TO EDITORS
1. More information about the National Ballistics Intelligence Service can be found at http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/ballistics/index-temp.asp

2. The Tackling Gangs Action Programme was launched by the Home Secretary in September 2007 as the focus of renewed action to tackle gun crime and serious violence amongst young people and is overseen by a central Ministerial Taskforce on guns and gangs.