Q: What is NABIS?
A: The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) is tasked with gathering and disseminating fast time intelligence on the criminal use of firearms to the police service and partner agencies. One of its primary functions is to identify the types of weapons that are being used illegally and co-ordinating national activity to remove these weapons from circulation.
Q: What is ACPO CUF?
A: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Criminal Use of Firearms (ACPO CUF) working group undertakes to co-ordinate work nationally, with police forces and law enforcement agencies, to reduce the availability of firearms to criminals. The ACPO CUF Secretariat is managed by NABIS.
Q: When was NABIS created?
A: NABIS has been operational since 2008 and delivers a unique, world class multi-agency approach to tackling gun crime. NABIS is a national centre of excellence in relation to forensic science, intelligence and knowledge around the use, supply and manufacture of illegal firearms and ammunition.
Q: What law enforcement agency does NABIS belong to?
A: NABIS has a national remit. NABIS is ‘hosted’ by West Midlands Police on behalf of ACPO.
Q: How is NABIS funded?
A: NABIS is funded through an agreement by a ACPO subscription arrangement from the 43 police forces of England and Wales. Scotland contributes through the Association of Chief Police Officer for Scotland (ACPOS).
Q: What are the core elements of NABIS?
A: NABIS provides three core functions.
- Forensic Services
- Intelligence
- Knowledge and Communications.
Q: What is NABIS Forensic Services?
A: NABIS provides a dedicated forensic service to analyse ballistic material from across the UK. NABIS Forensic Hubs utilise cutting edge technology to connect incidents nationwide, where ballistic material has been recovered.
NABIS then shares the forensic analysis information, to create a national picture that links the criminal use of firearms across the country.
Q: What is the NABIS Intelligence Cell?
A: The NABIS Intelligence Cell provides strategic and tactical intelligence associated with the criminal use of firearms in the UK. This takes the form of compiling information about people, objects, locations and events. This information is linked to gun crime incidents and ballistic items both contemporaneously and retrospectively on a daily basis. It is disseminated by way of intelligence packages which include narratives relating to the use of criminally held firearms.
Q: What is NABIS Knowledge and Communications
A: This element of the service provides support to NABIS centrally as well as police forces and law enforcement agencies involved in tackling the criminal use of firearms. Knowledge and Communications also helps to with legislative development and the development of technology. NABIS Knowledge and Communications also provides a secretariat function to the Association of Chief Police Officer Criminal Use of Firearms (ACPO CUF) portfolio of work. ACPO CUF is headed by Assistant Chief Constable Susannah Fish OBE, and the portfolio aims to reduce the threat of harm caused by firearms crime
Q: How do these core elements work together?
A: The three core functions NABIS provides to UK law enforcement use forensic science as a driver for wider intelligence capabilities. NABIS provides complete ballistic identification through its Forensic Services capability. In addition the NABIS Intelligence Cell provides Senior Investigating Officers (SIO) with intelligence about people, places and vehicles that the weapon is linked to. NABIS Knowledge and Communications provides stakeholders and partners with a coherent and consistent approach to tackling gun crime through access to professional practical development and media support.
Q: How do forces and law enforcement agencies send ballistic items to NABIS?
A: As part of the service provided by NABIS, all ballistic items that are being sent to one of the NABIS Hubs are collected from police forces. To ensure that the ballistic material is secure, police forces sort the items into security tagged boxes with paperwork lists of what is in each. Details of the material and the incident it was recovered from are entered onto the NABIS Database prior to it being sent to the hub. The boxes are then opened at the relevant hub and are checked against the paperwork before being examined.
Q: How many Hubs has NABIS got and where are they?
A: The four ballistic laboratories known as NABIS Hubs are located in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Glasgow.
Q: What is the NABIS Database?
A: The NABIS Database is a national system for the recording of gun crime incidents. The details of the incident are entered on the database along with information about the ballistic material that has been recovered. The information regarding these items is linked to other intelligence. All this information is accessible to the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) and the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) at the touch of a button.
Q: Who has access to the NABIS Database?
A: Access to the Database is Restricted and users only have access to areas of the database where the information is relevant to their role.
Q: What are inferred firearms?
A: An inferred firearm is created on the NABIS Database to illustrate the presence of a weapon that has been identified from recovered ballistic material however the firearm has yet to be recovered. This information is sent to forces where the inferred firearm has been identified, to enable them to know what firearms are being used in their force area.
Q: What are police forces required to do for NABIS?
A: The NABIS Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) places an obligation on police forces and law enforcement partners to ensure that all relevant ballistic material is submitted to NABIS Forensic Services as soon as practicable after it has been recovered. In addition it aims to ensure that police forces are responsible for putting the initial information onto the NABIS Database before sending the ballistic items to one of the NABIS Hubs. This includes information about the description of the material and how it was recovered, as well as people and Organised Crime Group information.
Q: Why do we need the MoU?
A: The NABIS MoU is needed to ensure forces and agencies are maintaining standards in a number of key areas. These areas of work are essential in allowing NABIS to be successful in the fight against gun crime.
Q: How will the MoU help NABIS?
A: A failure or delay in utilising the capabilities of the NABIS service could limit the effectiveness of local and national investigations into the criminal use of firearms with possible gun crime linkages remaining unknown and unexplored. The MoU places an obligation on police forces and law enforcement partners to ensure essential tasks are undertaken and completed for the benefit of law enforcement across the country.
Q: Where did the idea for the MoU come from?
A: The MoU was created by Chief Constable Brian Moore, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Lead of Violence and Public Protection. The MoU is supported by the ACPO Criminal Use of Firearms (CUF) lead, ACC Susannah Fish and the ACPO lead for NABIS ACC Gary Cann.
Q: Who created and agreed the MoU document?
A: The NABIS Knowledge and Communications Team wrote the MoU, and it has been agreed at the NABIS Board, ACPO CUF Steering Group and ACPO Violence and Public Protection Board. It has also been sent to all Chief Constables via the ACPO Intranet.
Q: When will the NABIS MoU come into effect?
A: The NABIS MoU came into effect in June 2011
Q: What requirements does the MoU place on NABIS?
A: NABIS is currently required to deliver against its existing Service Level Agreement (SLA) regarding NABIS Forensic Services. Once the MoU is in force NABIS will also have to deliver management information relating to how a force or agency performs against the MoU. This will be known as Effectiveness Management Information (EMI) and will be delivered to forces and agencies on a quarterly basis by NABIS Knowledge and Communications.
Q: What is Effectiveness Management Information (EMI)?
A: EMI will include information about the number of items recorded on the NABIS Database; time from recovery to submission; the number of intelligence entries; the number and quality of intelligence updates; responses to linked incidents; the number of inferred weapons recovered.
Q: Will the MoU hold NABIS to account?
A: Yes it will. Forces and law enforcement agencies can expect to receive information about how NABIS is performing against its deliverables, such as NABIS Transportation Service collection times; NABIS Forensic Services turnaround times; Number ballistic links and Number of intelligence products
Q: What requirements does the MoU place on forces and law enforcement agencies?
A: Key obligations that are part of the MoU include: Ensuring that all relevant ballistic material is submitted to NABIS Forensic Services as soon as practicable after it has been recovered; Ensuring that forces and law enforcement agencies are fully in control of the movement and recording of firearms and other ballistic material within their organisation; Ensuring that intelligence products provided by NABIS are dealt with in a consistent and appropriate manner and that operational activity is generated where necessary; Ensuring that timely, good quality information is entered on the NABIS Database for both incident and intelligence data.
Q: How will forces know about the MoU?
A: NABIS Knowledge and Communications has modified the NABIS Communications Strategy to include marketing the MoU. This modified strategy was agreed at ACPO Violence and Public Protection in February 2011. In line with the strategy NABIS Knowledge and Communications has been developing a Communications Toolkit that will market the MoU and ensure people understand it.
Material in the Toolkit will include;
- Posters
- Factsheet
- Generic force/agency newspaper articles
- Generic force/agency intranet content
- Case studies
The MoU Communications toolkit forms part of a range of products designed to raise awareness of the NABIS Service as a whole.
Q: Does NABIS work with international law enforcement partners?
A: Yes. NABIS works with international partners such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the United States as well as partners from across Europe and the world.