Hawaii joined the rest of the nation recently by joining a computer network run by the U.S. Department of Justice that captures, stores and compares digital images of ballistic evidence pulled from shell casings found at gun crime scenes.

Until now, police departments in Hawaii had their own separate policies and procedures for gathering, analyzing and comparing evidence from spent shell casings at crime scenes. That process was measured in weeks or months, a frustrating timetable in an era of privately manufactured “ghost guns” and criminals who quickly move firearms around the state and nation.

But thanks to $250,000 in federal funding from the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the four county police departments and the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement will be able to analyze evidence from gun crimes and make connections and identifications in near real time.

Hawaii is among the last states to join the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a specialized automated computer network administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The computer system linking Hawaii to the national network and components used to analyze cartridges and casings are housed in an office at the end of a hallway on the third floor of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement’s King Street headquarters.

Established in 1999, NIBIN allows federal, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement agencies to capture, store and compare digital images of ballistic evidence, according to the ATF.

By analyzing the unique “fingerprints” left behind on cartridge cases when a gun is fired, NIBIN connects “seemingly unrelated shooting incidents, traces the history of crime guns, and helps identify violent repeat offenders” across jurisdictional boundaries, federal officials say.

Mike Lambert, director of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, led the effort to get the state and counties hooked into NIBIN. Lambert has been working to get better data and the ability to trace guns used in crimes since he worked as a major leading the Honolulu Police Department’s Narcotics/Vice division.

He said getting the counties integrated into the network is a “huge step forward for law enforcement” in terms of using advancements to unify and enhance crime gun intelligence statewide. The NIBIN machine is the “first of its kind” in Hawaii and will help all four county police departments address gun violence by finding connections between firearms, shell casings and ammunition found at crime scenes,” Lambert said.

“We haven’t had this technology, ever, and we’re grateful to our friends (at HIDTA and ATF) to fund this project so that we can keep Hawaii one of the safest states in the nation,” said Lambert, speaking to reporters at DLE headquarters Tuesday. “If somebody wants to fire a gun in our state, we’re going to put it into this system and we’re going to bring people to justice.”

Lambert provided an example of how the network may work. If police officers respond to a reported shooting and all they have is a suspect description and shell casings, the casings will be collected and analyzed. If another gun crime incident is reported and a suspect is arrested, if the casings match up, the crimes can be linked.

“It’s not necessarily the same shooter at every scene but what we would understand is that this gun is being used. A lot of the time when you are dealing with organized crime or gangs then it would point toward a certain group of individuals … It may point to the same individual,” Lambert said.

Generally speaking, law enforcement recovers fired cartridge casings from crime scenes or test-fires confiscated firearms, according to the ATF. Technicians use the Integrated Ballistic Identification System platform to “take high-resolution 2D or 3D images” of the markings left on the casing (such as firing pin impressions and breech face marks).

The digital signatures are uploaded to the network and “instantly compared against millions of existing images” in the national database.

If the system identifies highly similar markings, it flags a potential match known as a NIBIN Lead, according to federal officials. Before a lead can be used as “definitive evidence in court,” a certified firearms examiner performs a manual, side-by-side microscopic comparison of the physical casings to confirm a NIBIN hit, according to the ATF.

A statewide standard for establishing chain of custody with evidence is being set up and all police departments will follow the same procedures to ensure the evidence gathered holds up in court. Several cases have been referred for NIBIN analysis, Lambert said but he declined to share which cases, citing ongoing criminal investigations.

He is also hopeful the data will help law enforcement understand the ghost gun issue in Hawaii.

The number of ghost guns recovered from crime scenes or seized during investigations in 2024 jumped to 88 from 52 the prior year.

A ghost gun is a privately made firearm not marked with a serial number and is almost impossible for law enforcement to trace, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The biggest issue we have in Honolulu is we don’t know how many illegally manufacture firearms there are. Whenever we have a casing and it’s something that we don’t have any evidence on or knowledge of, that can start to give us clues about how many weapons are here that were manufactured locally, once we find the actual gun itself,” said Lambert.

Jonathan Blais, special agent in charge of the ATF’s Seattle Field Division which oversees Hawaii, said Tuesday that the NIBN technology is a “powerful, proven tool” that transforms evidence into actual intelligence.

“NIBN is the cornerstone of our technology arsenal. It allows investigators to identify links between shootings by comparing the unique markings left on cartridge casings when a firearm is discharged,” Blais said. “By analyzing and comparing unique markings left on spent shell casings recovered from crime scenes, we can link seemingly unrelated shootings, uncover patterns of criminal activity that might otherwise go undetected and disrupt cycles of violence before they escalate. A successful program relies on both comprehensive collection of all firearm casings collected at crime scenes as well as timely submission of test-fired casings from firearms in law enforcement custody.”

The NIBIN system in Hawaii was dedicated Tuesday in honor of fallen Maui police officer Suzanne O, who was shot and killed in the line of duty while responding to a terroristic threatening call in Paia in August.

Wade Maeda, Deputy Police Chief of the Maui Police Department, said the dedication was meaningful to MPD because the system bears her name.

“Officer O dedicated her life to serving and protecting the people of Maui County with courage, compassion, and professionalism. That commitment aligns with this tool that helps bring justice to victims, and accountability to offenders.While officer O is deeply missed, her impact continues to be felt every day,” Maeda said.

Maeda was joined Tuesday by HPD interim Chief Rade Vanic and Kauai Police Department chief Rudy Tai.

“For our local law enforcement, this NIBN site means faster access to critical investigating information instead of waiting weeks or months for connections to emerge, officers and detectives can develop this in near real time, helping them identify suspects, solve cases and prevent future acts of violence,” Blais said. “Every cartridge case entered in NIBN has the potential to tell a story and every lead generated through NIBN represents an opportunity to intervene before another crime occurs. Most importantly, the benefits of NIBN extend far beyond law enforcement. This technology helps remove violent offenders from our streets, disrupts cycles of retaliatory violence and delivers justice to victims and their families.”