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.