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January 28, 2025

NIBIN Helps Solve Gun Crimes 

by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist

When there is a shooting, one of the most important pieces of evidence can be the shell casings that are left behind. When a round is fired from a semiautomatic firearm, the bullet itself is the projectile, while the shell casing is ejected and usually left on scene. Valuable evidence can be left behind on the casings, such as fingerprints and trace DNA. But the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) can use yet another way to solve crimes using shell casings – the unique marks that each individual gun leaves on the rounds it fires. Just as we all have unique fingerprints that we leave behind, every gun leaves its own “fingerprints” in the form of mechanical marks left on both bullets and casings. While bullets might be too deformed from impact to clearly show marks, casings often retain clear imprints of the marks left by the firearm.


“NIBIN is the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network,” said NIBIN Administrator, Corporal Jeff Undestad. “It works with ATF to associate shell casings with specific firearms. My job is to identify crime guns through reports we receive and test fire them.” Not all guns meet NIBIN criteria for testing. Firearms collected through Risk Protection Orders and temporary injunctions aren’t tested. Nor are revolvers – which don’t generally leave a shell casing at the scene because the casings remain inside the cylinder unless the shooter reloads – and some older weapons. It is a myth that all guns are fired before sale to create a ballistics record.


When a firearm is recovered, after it is processed by forensics for DNA and fingerprints, Corporal Undestad checks it out of Property and Evidence and takes it for a test firing. Using standardized ammunition, he fires two rounds of ammo with brass primer, and two rounds of ammo with nickel primer to see which has the clearest marks. He’s found that nickel usually yields the best results. (Although the gun’s “fingerprint” doesn’t change, the clarity of the marks can vary from shot to shot, just as you may leave better or worse fingerprints depending on a variety of conditions.) Only the best of the four is entered into NIBIN.


Guns come to him in a variety of conditions. Many are dirty, some are damaged. Corporal Undestad has a lot of experience with firearms and the way they can malfunction, so he can usually convince them to fire, even if he has to do a single-round workaround. The worst firearms might have to go to the armorer to be checked before they can be fired. 


The test casings are brought to the IBIS/Brasstrax machine, which uses 3D microscopy sensors to capture the topography of unique marks on shell casings or bullets. Corporal Undestad adjusts the lighting to reveal an extremely detailed view of the casing, and then marks sections of the image, such as the firing pin impression, to give the ATF Correlation Center the points of reference they need for their analysis. The image is then uploaded to the network to compare the marks against all others in the database. The system can link two shell casings from different crime scenes or link a shell casing to a particular gun. “The program ranks markings by similarity,” Corporal Undestad said, “but there is always a human eye reviewing it and making the final determination.” 


Ballistic forensic information in NIBIN doesn’t directly identify the shooter, but it does provide links that serve as investigative leads for detectives to follow up on. “On my first day doing test fires, I had three leads.” PCSO has been doing this for two years, and offers it to other local agencies too. Before that, agencies had to send their firearms and casings to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a much more time-consuming process. “It’s a huge benefit for Pinellas County because now we have a much faster turnaround time, for us and all the detectives in Pinellas County.”


Corporal Undestad has a unique background that makes him ideal for the job as NIBIN Administrator. He was with the Largo Police Department for 33 years, and was their chief for the last 10 of those years. But for the first 10 years of his career he was an evidence technician. “I have a fondness for crime scene processing,” he said. “When I was with Largo I worked a lot with the PCSO Forensics team. They helped educate me on crime scene procedures. Now after retirement, I thought this was a perfect opportunity for me to get back into an area of law enforcement that I really loved when I was a new officer.”


Corporal Undestad has been enjoying his second career. “For me, it’s really rewarding. We’ve had cases match up with other agencies’ cases from years ago. They might be sitting on a cold case somewhere and suddenly we have a gun or a shell casing, and more information for them to follow up on.” Every recovered gun or shell casing is a new chance to solve a gun crime.



Move Over Law Covers

More Than You May Think 

by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist

You probably know that you should move over when an ambulance or fire department vehicle is coming up behind you with their lights or sirens on. And if you see a deputy pulled over on the side of the road doing a traffic stop, you know to move over a lane to give them space. But the Move Over Law applies to a lot more than just emergency vehicles. Make sure you know which vehicles are covered by the Move Over Law, and what to do as you approach them.


There are a lot of different circumstances in which you are required by law to move over one lane to allow space for vehicles parked on the roadside. In addition to all emergency vehicles (fire, law enforcement, and EMS) you need to move over for a variety of vehicles that are performing tasks relating to their function. Move over for sanitation (garbage, recycling, etc.) trucks performing a sanitation task, utility vehicles (water, sewer, power, etc.) performing utility tasks, a tow truck with flashing amber lights recovering or loading a vehicle, or road maintenance vehicles with flashing lights.


Last year, the law expanded to include all disabled vehicles. Now you also must move over for any motor vehicle that is stopped on the roadside and is using its hazard or warning lights, emergency flares, posts emergency signage, or if there is a person visible with the vehicle. 


In all of these situations, when possible and safe to do so, a driver must move out of the lane that is closest to the vehicle on the side of the road. So if a disabled vehicle is on the right shoulder of a multi-lane road, you would move out of the far right lane to the next lane on your left. If there is no lane to move into, or if traffic does not permit you to move over, you must slow to 20 mph less than the posted speed limit. For example if the speed limit is 55 mph, you must slow down to 35 mph. If you’re on a road with a speed limit of 20 mph or less, you must slow to a speed of 5 mph.


The law also has a section that applies to pedestrians. People on foot, riding a bicycle, or using personal mobility device such as a scooter must yield to an approaching emergency vehicle. That means that even if you have the right of way, such as you are about to legally cross in a marked crosswalk, you must let the emergency vehicle proceed first. 


There is even a special law requiring boats to move over or slow down for emergency vessels. This law requires vessels to be at or below slow speed, minimum wake within 300 feet of any emergency or firefighting vessel with its flashing lights activated. This long distance is necessary because the danger comes not only from the chance of a collision, but from the waves created by a boat’s wake that can rock or damage an emergency vessel.


The side of the road is a dangerous place. Moving over helps keep emergency vehicles, working vehicles, and YOU safer. Just think how much you’ll appreciate a one-lane buffer zone the next time you’re stuck on the side of a highway changing your tire. Deputies are watching for violations of the Move Over Law and may issue citations if you fail to follow the law.

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