Peoria County approves $372,000 grant for NIBIN forensic machine for sheriff's office

Peoria County committee members voted to approve a sheriff’s resolution accepting a $372,000 grant to purchase a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) machine and associated services.

The sheriff explained the machine’s purpose and investigative value: it compares markings on shell casings to identify whether the same firearm was used in multiple shootings. "It's almost like a fingerprint. The rifling leaves an imprint that's very unique only to that gun that, that shoots that ammo," the sheriff said. He told the committee the machine should speed some ballistic comparisons from days to hours and allow the county to run scans on its own schedule rather than relying on another city's equipment.

The sheriff said the award pays for the machine and includes roughly six to seven years of subscription service. The office has already trained at least one staff member on equipment use; the sheriff said county staff previously used a neighboring city’s NIBIN site and sometimes had to wait 12 hours or more for access.

A committee member noted that Member Renaud had indicated the grant amount matched expectations. The sheriff said the machine would allow other agencies to use the equipment and that Peoria County might be among the relatively few Illinois sheriff's offices operating a NIBIN unit outside of large jurisdictions such as Cook County.

Committee members praised the sheriff’s grant writer, noting recent successful grant awards and pending applications. The committee approved the resolution after a motion was called; a member said "I vote aye," and the chair asked "All in favor," after which the sheriff thanked the committee.

The committee did not record detailed conditions on grant acceptance during the meeting. The sheriff indicated the machine interfaces with the ATF ballistic database; the county will follow ATF and program procedures for evidence handling, training and submissions.