PNP launches P137-million ballistic system

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the P137-million Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) technology will act like a data bank of bullets and slugs and would help investigators identify the type of firearms used in a crime and possibly even its owner.

PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said the IBIS technology would be an effective tool for police investigators to go after criminals, especially those who use firearms in the commission of crime.

The technology from Canada has been adopted by more than 40 countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia.

Crime laboratory director Chief Supt. Victorio Caragan Jr. said the technology would effectively record and correlate all bullet slugs and shells gathered during police investigations.

“Every firearm leaves unique markings that serve as mechanical fingerprints of the gun on bullets and cartridge cases it fires. These markings can be used to trace a particular firearm,” said Caragan.

At present, Caragan said the PNP uses the microscope to examine ballistic evidence. The method, although proven to be quite accurate, usually takes 13 years with a technician working 24 hours and seven days a week comparing a specimen to over 1.3 million registered firearms.

The crime laboratory director said the new technology would cut from 13 years to two hours the time to check and compare the specimen to its database of licensed gun holders.

“IBIS uses sophisticated electronic and digital technology to classify evidence,” said Caragan.

Caragan said the IBIS consists of three phases: the first of which includes a BulletTRAX-3D that can scan digital images of bullets, a BrassTRAX-3D that can scan bullet cartridges, and other equipment that will allow authorities to easily search and correlate firearms.

Initially, he noted that the technology would only cover licensed firearms but he hopes to expand their database to include loose firearms in the future.

Meantime, Bacalzo said training and retraining of policemen nationwide will continue to prevent lapses in investigation, which led to the acquittal of the accused in the 1991Vizconde massacre.

Under his three-month old administration, Bacalzo said the PNP started holding case management courses for commissioned and non-commissioned officers.

“Some police investigators have very insufficient training in investigation. Ideally, every policeman should be a competent investigator,” said Bacalzo during a meeting with The STAR editors on Wednesday night.

The Supreme Court earlier dismissed the rape with homicide convictions against Hubert Webb and five others. The case stemmed from the June 30, 1991 massacre of Estrellita Vizconde, 47, and her two daughters, Jennifer, 7, and Carmela, 19.

Police investigators had arrested two batches of wrong suspects before Webb and the five others.

Another incident of bungled police operation was the hostage-taking incident last Aug. 23 at the Quirino Grandstand where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.

Authorities believed that if investigators had sufficient training in case management, the two incidents would have had different endings.

Under the present setup, Bacalzo revealed that the training for Police Officer 1 (PO1) on investigation module was only a one-day lecture. Later, the police officer will be sent to the field for actual investigation training.

“The training is not enough to make our police officers competent investigators,” the PNP chief noted.