Drugfire
Encyclopedia
DRUGFIRE is a multimedia database imaging system that automates the comparison of images of bullet cartridge cases, shell casings and bullets that was developed by MSI (Mnemonic System Inc.). It is a multimedia database imaging system that allows examiners from across the country to compare and link evidence obtained in the form of spent cartridges and other ammunition casings . When the Federal Bureau of Investigation
came under pressure to respond to the wave of gun violence
gripping American cities during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, the FBI sub-contracted MSI
to come up with a faster way of comparing and linking evidence obtained in the form of spent cartridges and other ammunition casings from Drug-related crime
s across the country.
devolved DRUGFIRE, a forensic imaging system that allows investigators to compare ammunition markings from a specific shooting to databases of seemingly unrelated shootings which allowed the FBI to solve numerous cases.
case that was directly attributed to being solved by Drugfire:
The Murder
One case that was solved by DRUGFIRE was the Murder
of Tommie Cain, the Oakland Police had little to go on, witnesses provided little information. The next month, an Oakland patrol officer pulled over Jovan Reynolds and Henry Bruce for a routine traffic stop. Both had felony records, the officer found a .38-caliber revolver in the car. Because no other known crimes had been committed at the time the gun was found, officers took their time getting ballistics exams done of the gun. Several months later, when the gun was test-fired, police found that its bullet matched a bullet already in the imaging system, that slug had come from Cain's body. With the information, Reynolds and Bruce were questioned and eventually confessed to the murder. It turned out Cain had run into the men while they were in the midst of a day-long robbery spree and they had shot Cain while attempting to escape. Police investigators said the case would most likely still had been open if not for the use of DRUGFIREe.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
came under pressure to respond to the wave of gun violence
Gun violence
Gun violence defined literally means the use of a firearm to threaten or inflict violence or harm. Gun violence may be broadly defined as a category of violence and crime committed with the use of a firearm; it may or may not include actions ruled as self-defense, actions for law enforcement, or...
gripping American cities during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, the FBI sub-contracted MSI
MSI
-Computing:* Windows Installer, an installer system written by Microsoft for Windows platforms * Medium Scale Integration, a generation of integrated circuit chips which contain hundreds of transistors...
to come up with a faster way of comparing and linking evidence obtained in the form of spent cartridges and other ammunition casings from Drug-related crime
Drug-Related Crime
In the United States, Illegal drugs are related to crime in multiple ways. Most directly, it is a crime to use, possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse...
s across the country.
Development
From the years of 1991 and 1992, MSIMSI
-Computing:* Windows Installer, an installer system written by Microsoft for Windows platforms * Medium Scale Integration, a generation of integrated circuit chips which contain hundreds of transistors...
devolved DRUGFIRE, a forensic imaging system that allows investigators to compare ammunition markings from a specific shooting to databases of seemingly unrelated shootings which allowed the FBI to solve numerous cases.
Cases Solved By DRUGFIRE
The following is a murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
case that was directly attributed to being solved by Drugfire:
The MurderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Tommie Cain
One case that was solved by DRUGFIRE was the MurderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Tommie Cain, the Oakland Police had little to go on, witnesses provided little information. The next month, an Oakland patrol officer pulled over Jovan Reynolds and Henry Bruce for a routine traffic stop. Both had felony records, the officer found a .38-caliber revolver in the car. Because no other known crimes had been committed at the time the gun was found, officers took their time getting ballistics exams done of the gun. Several months later, when the gun was test-fired, police found that its bullet matched a bullet already in the imaging system, that slug had come from Cain's body. With the information, Reynolds and Bruce were questioned and eventually confessed to the murder. It turned out Cain had run into the men while they were in the midst of a day-long robbery spree and they had shot Cain while attempting to escape. Police investigators said the case would most likely still had been open if not for the use of DRUGFIREe.
How DRUGFIRE Differs from the Old Method of Identifying Shot Casings
Before DRUGFIRE was invented, firearm examiners had to rely on a technique devised in the 1920s to compare ammunition markings, this involved looking at a casing under a microscope and the examiner had to compare the two casings to see if there were similar markings on the bullet which would most likely mean that the bullets had been fired from the same gun.Statistics of DRUGFIRE's Usage
DRUGFIRE has been considered by many experts to be a widespread success because it has resulted in many previously unsolved "cold cases" being solved . The following illustrates some statistics of the usage Drugfire.- DRUGFIRE has been installed in well over 100 Crime LabsCrime LabA crime laboratory - often shortened to crime lab - is a scientific laboratory, using primarily forensic science for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases.- Lab personnel :A typical crime lab has two sets of personnel:...
throughout the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- DRUGFIRE is currently being used by more than 500 firearm examiners and technicians.
- DRUGFIRE has processed in excess of 65,000 HomicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
and MurderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
cases worldwide.
- DRUGFIRE has matched and as a result solved more than 5,200 cases worldwide.