Thread by @nguyenkvvn

Currently sitting in the ATF's WebEx for the "CRIME GUN INTELLIGENCE STUDENT INFORMATION & RECRUITMENT SYMPOSIUM" and people have shown up dressed from suits to polos.

meanwhile i'm sitting here in my John Jovino Chinatown gun tee (why don't I have a DD tee yet?!?)

So one of the hosts, really seems impassioned about making a difference in communities. Shame that he works for the ATF...

I'll try to live tweet before and after my COVID test this morning.

"Intelligence Research Specialist" (IRS) from Chicago will be presenting the tools they use.

"CGI Case Study"

"Firearms Trafficking"

"NNCTC & ATF Lab"

are some of the topics they have for discussion. Interesting on what parts of the ATF they have for gathering information

And then there's the doggie presentation at 12 EST.

Sorry- can't ask if they kill the dogs as the first step- questions are moderated lol

Crime Gun Intelligence presentation is starting. Presenter is a long-time ATF SA who's going to share info about her day to day as a lead-in to the different niches of roles the ATF has

**keyword Unlawful

Okay, gotta step away to go get COVID tested. Will be back soon.

jk turns out my covid test i can get there in eight minutes. leaving soon though

Ms. Weimar gives a lot of insight from one of her case highlights- the connection made from a gun being used in one shooting, being used in another shootings led to her being able to pull video and witness information from those other incidents.

Witnesses, surveillances, even phone recordings, fall into their scope of what the use to get CGI

oooh very curious to see what this entails

NIBIN is managed by the ATF. Partner agencies can use it to have access to create "ballistic links".

A brief overview is being given about how a gun works- this is to give context to prospective SAs about how to enforce laws regarding items... that they don't understand.

Yikes.

NIBIN typically involves the cartridge case- not projectiles. Interesting! Makes sense as the casings are most commonly recovered from crime scenes

At the high level, main equipment are fancy camera and fancy software

"HD 3D" image of a cartridge case is given from the camera station... Interesting

Side-by-size comparison of a current image vs a database comparison. Almost like comparing fingerprints...

Pay attention too to the primer, firing pin, ejector, and headstamp views

They just mentioned that across the country, cases collected from all over the nation goes into NIBIN. Scary.

ATF does not maintain a registry. They only know when a gun is imported or made. (They don't know who the current owner is, unless the gun is involved in an incident.)

They only know about seized guns.

So, when casings are put in, they are of no use at first. Only after recovering a firearm or more casings...

I'm curious to see how NIBIN handles remanufactured/reloaded ammo?

"Detroit Police Department relies on NIBIN, especially for homicides."

Ms. Weimar is a great presenter. Very engaging so far with lots of information.

Okay, next piece is starting, I gotta go to my testing location. Be back later.

Back. I joined breakout room 1.

Reminder cell phone triangulation is a thing.

The ATF *does* check to see who is on each cell tower before and after a particular event occurs.

So yeah, just being within the vicinity of an event might name you as a suspect.

Oooh they're talking about 3D printing now

LOL "you might get malware or ransomware" from getting 3D printed guns... Okay, maybe from mirrors or sketchy sources.

That's why you always go to the origin ;D

There's a "Internet Investigation Center" in Washington, using some automation, but there's either not a whole lot or can't say much.

I got kicked out of Breakout Room 1. Strange, as I actually kept my camera off and asked actual questions.

Must have been a bug. We're back in.

One thing I do admire about these presenters is that they really do appear to have a lot of expertise and talent. In a different time or world, I wish I could be working with them with such passion and purpose. Just... not for the ATF. :(

The new presenters are very vibrant folks. Energetic, and will have a small quiz planned for us at the end!

Interesting- NIBIN seems VERY oriented around the brass casing.

Unfortunately, my question about reloads didn't get answered. I'll ask again later.

MATCHPOINT is their software for analyzing and comparing found casings.

The forensic technology the ATF uses is very interesting.

Something curious they mentioned- to reduce load (probably), "correlation requests" across state bounds or multiple areas have to be manually requested.

The usability of the system seems dependent on the user's ability to specify the search criteria also- for example, firing pin shapes, caliber, etc.

Differences between Crime Test Fires:
Terminated == gun has been test fired to collect data, will be destroyed
Returned == ditto, but returned to owner

As far as I can see, MATCHPOINT is a high-level big-data esque type of filtering and search system *specifically* for ammo casings.

It's an innovative system combining distributed networks, databases, and image recognition.

Wow, there's employees AND volunteers that shoot crime guns to collect the casings to input into this comprehensive system.

TIL gangs share guns with each other!

One of the hosts responded to my reloading question: there might be multiple extractor marks, but with a new primer, NIBIN can likely make a match.

In the case of a reused case though, a manual comparison with a microscope might be needed with a human.

NIBIN seems to be the answer for bulk/fast analysis, rather than something very details. At that point, it makes sense to put a human in the loop.

Okay, the K9 Program is beginning.

Really enjoyed the NIBIN segment. Packed full of info, but I'm sure there's more nuance and whatnot behind the tool and its usage.

oop, they started too early. went back to the Break Out Room 1, where they are speaking about Firearms Traffiking

Oh? Seems like revolvers are the Achilles' Heel for NIBIN, given that shell casings won't be dropped likely.

39,800,000 NICS checks occurred in 2020. Wow.

The ATF said it themselves- legally owned machineguns are not used in crimes typically, given that it's so laborious to own them.

They are typically purchased semi, then made auto.

Firearms tracing is a very manual process... Calling distributors and importers and stores over and over

"Not all firearms that are trafficked end up in the hands of TCOs"

"Straw purchasers feed a lot of firearms into Mexico"

Don't be misled- "majority of the weapons recovered in Mexico are pistols"

TIL!

GEOINT used to identify patterns of life for suspects

We've moved to "International Weapons Trafficking".

"I didn't think Bond villains do exist... but they do."

Again, I really admire the passion these people have for their country and defense of it. It's just regrettable they work for the ATF.

I wonder what the ATF considers what's a firearm- does it include parts kits too?

"MASINT is not something we encounter or use often, however; in some cases this might be used in conjuction with "ShotSpotter" used in some U.S. cities. This system alerts LE that shots were fired, from there- a general location is extrapolated using triangulation."

HOLD UP WTF

Okay, he's really laying into the "US sourced" weapons thing. And really sees himself as a superhero. (Which, I mean, it's a cool job and all, but it does get tiring.)

I guess the whole working overseas against cartels thing is pretty cool / super hero kind-of-career. Just not too keen with the "working against your own citizens" part.

Now we're on to the K9 Session

I'm not as interested in the K9 session as I was with the intelligence and "day-in-the-life-of-an-agent" sessions. Those were really engaging and eye opening.

So in general, the main meat (first part) of the ATF presentation was very informative.

I learned a lot about NIBIN, and intelligence sources the ATF uses to help solve cases.

Didn't get a whole lot about the firearms trafficking aside from "guns bad, cartels bad."

A little tongue in cheek, didn't the ATF send a bunch of guns to Mexico under Fast and Furious... creating the problem they're trying to solve? :/