FAQs

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.

NABIS delivers:

• A compulsory registry of recovered firearms and ammunition used in crime, as well as recovered firearms and ammunition that enter police possession through any means. This Database provides strategic and tactical intelligence capable of focusing law enforcement activity.
• A Database that provides strategic and tactical intelligence capable of focusing law enforcement activity.
• An Operational Support unit which provides essential support to the other key NABIS functions by developing liaison opportunities between NABIS and its partners, delivering an integrated national communications and media strategy and capturing, developing and disseminating good practice in relation to gun crime.

For more information on the services provided by NABIS, please see the Criminal Use of Firearms Site on POLKA which can be found here.

The NABIS Database allows analysis of all ballistic and intelligence submissions to develop tactical and strategic intelligence. This is developed by the NABIS Intelligence Cell into intelligence products that are disseminated by the National Intelligence Model NIM Tasking and Co-ordination processes at level 1 (to forces), level 2 (via Regional Intelligence Units (RIUs) and level 3 (NCA).

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.

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.

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. Operational Support also helps to with legislative development and provides stakeholders and partners with a coherent and consistent approach to tackling gun crime through access to professional practical development and media support.

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.

At present, only the Central and Scottish hub offer TER services. The provision of this service is available to forces, however, as it is not covered by the annual NABIS subscription fee, there is a charge to forces in England and Wales. There is no additional charge for TER services in Scotland as this is covered within forensic budgets.

An SIO may decide that ballistic items need to be submitted to an external forensic service provider for evidential work. However, it is important to note that the Open Case Files are held at the NABIS hubs, therefore, firearm-to-scene and scene-to-scene ballistic links from previous shootings can only be provided by NABIS. Checking ballistic items against open case files can compromise trace evidence opportunities. Examinations to recover trace evidence should therefore be carried out prior to any open case file work in the NABIS Forensic Hub. Ballistic items which have been sent to an FSP must, on completion of examination be sent to a NABIS forensic hub to ensure central collation and management of intelligence. All ballistic items that meet the NABIS Submission Criteria should be submitted to NABIS Hubs as a matter of urgency.

No. NABIS scientists are only able to provide remand statements during office hours. Out of hours services are provided by Forensic Service Providers or Force Armourers.

The Open Case Files (OCF) consist of bullets and cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes which have not been linked to a recovered weapon. The live open case files contain the physical exhibits relating to the last five years of ballistic material submitted to NABIS or to the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in preceding years.

All NABIS hubs are accredited by UKAS to ISO 17025.

The SPSA Firearms Unit should be contacted in all instances where a firearm has been discharged in Scotland. The Unit are available 24/7 to give advice on all firearms enquiries.

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.

Access to the Database is Restricted and users only have access to areas of the database where the information is relevant to their role.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In 2018 NABIS successfully completed their engagement with forces to finalise a national collaboration agreement with allof the police forces in England & Wales. This is the National Police Collaboration Agreement relating to the National Ballistics Intelligence Service under Section 22A of the Police Act 1996. The agreement sets out the legal framework for co-operation between NABIS and the police forces of England & Wales and details how NABIS is intended to operate in support of policeforces. A summary of the agreement is reproduced here. The full agreement is not published to protect sensitive operational detail, details of the summary are below:

Collaboration Agreement Summary

National Ballistics
Intelligence Service – NPCC Service Provision

 

1. A collaboration agreement to set up and define the functions and responsibilities of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS).

2.In accordance with Section 23E of the Police Act 1996, this summary was prepared for publication on behalf of the Parties and contains summarised provisions in relation to scope and purpose, term, termination, direction and control, governance, funding and liabilities as deemed appropriate.

3.This agreement shall take effect from 28^th June 2018 and shall continue in force until terminated in accordance with its terms.

4.The Chief Officer and Policing Body of a collaborating force may withdraw from this collaboration upon twelve months' written notice to the other Parties.

5.The Policing Bodies for each force shall be responsible for the governance of this collaboration and for holding to account the relevant Chief Officer for the discharge of functions by anyone who is acting under the terms of this collaboration agreement.

6.The Parties agree there shall be a NABIS Governance Board which shall consist of selected representatives from the Chief Officers and Policing Bodies of the collaborating forces or their nominated representatives under the terms detailed in the collaboration agreement.

7.The Governance Board will be responsible for the organisation, direction and management of the NABIS and will act in accordance with its agreed terms of reference.

8.The Governance Board will oversee the appointment of the Head of NABIS.  

9.The Parties agree that NABIS will be funded by financial contributions from the collaborating Policing Bodies, such financial contributions being set out in the collaboration agreement.

10.The NABIS collaboration agreement does not involve the provision of staff or officers by one force to another force and each party's obligations shall be fulfilled by its own staff or officers. Accordingly, each Chief Officer continues to have direction and control over its own officers and staff.

11.To meet the requirement of its infrastructure and database, NABIS software and police data is hosted on the West Midlands and Greater Manchester Police (as lead forces) infrastructure and the parties have agreed specific provisions relating to the sharing of liability in the event of any breach of any related third party sub-contracts.

12.The provisions listed in paragraph 13 are contained within this agreement but their detailed publication is not deemed appropriate as either:

a.they are merely standard boiler plate clauses and are not considered controversial in any way; or

b.they contain sensitive operational or commercial information which it is not considered in the public interest to disclose.

13.List of other provisions:

<><><><><>
<><><><><> <><><><><>
<><><><><>
<><><><><>
<><><><><>
<><><><><>
<><><><><>
<><><><><>

Introduction and Legal Context Definitions and Interpretations Licence in relation to Premises	Limitations on Liability Withdrawal and Termination Consequences of Termination
Head of NABIS Responsibilities Procurement of Licences and Services Audit and Inspection Freedom of Information Confidentiality Data Quality Data Security Risk Management Data Protection Publicity Common Policies and Procedures Notices Review and Variation of Agreement Changes to Software Disputes Resolution Insurance Representations and Warranties Standard of Conduct Force Majeure	Intellectual Property Rights Assets Interest on Late Payment Conflict of Interest Public Interest Disclosures Non-discrimination Assignment Waiver of rights Relationship of the Parties Costs and Expenses Authorised Representatives Illegal/Unenforceable Provisions Entire Agreement Third Parties and Successors Notices Further Assurances Counterparts Governing Law

14. The Parties to this agreement are:

The Following Chief Officers·

The Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police·

The Chief Constable of the British Transport Police

The Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire Constabulary
The Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary

The Commissioner of Police of the City of London
·
The Chief Constable of Cleveland

The Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall Police

The Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Dorset Police

The Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police

The Chief Constable of Essex Police·

The Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police

The Chief Constable of Gwent Police

The Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary
The Chief Constable of Humberside Police

The Chief Constable of Kent Police

·The Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary

·The Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police

The Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police

The Chief Constable of Merseyside Police

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis

The Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary

The Chief Constable of North Wales Police

The Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police

The Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police

The Chief Constable of Northumbria Police

The Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police

The Chief Constable of South Wales Police

The Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police

The Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police

The Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary

The Chief Constable of Surrey Police

The Chief Constable of Sussex Police

The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police

The Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police

The Chief Constable of West Mercia Police

The Chief Constable of West Midlands Police
The Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police

The Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police

The Following Policing Bodies

Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset

Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire 
The British Transport Police Authority

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire

The Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as Police Authority

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland
Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria

Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon & Cornwall

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys
Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex
Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire

Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester

Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside·The Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk

Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales

Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire
Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales·
Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire

Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire

Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley
Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia·
Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands·
Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire·
Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire
And The National Crime Agency