The odyssey project – understanding and implementing user needs in the context of ballistic crime data exchange

Abstract

Gun crime – that is potential and actual illegal events in which firearms, ammunition and other ballistic items are involved – happens widely across the EU, though the levels and definitions of such events vary. Such variations come from the multiple methods, systems and legal frameworks in EU member States. The majority of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) believe that criminals actively use and move firearms across the EU. As a result criminals, guns and evidence travel across borders. Unfortunately comparable levels of data on gun crimes held by LEAs does not travel across borders, despite gun crime information being collected widely across the EU. Especially as not all the data is collected electronically and database formats, structures and data fields vary. In addition different ballistics imaging systems are used across the EU. The Odyssey Project was part-funded under the EU FP7 programme to explore the challenges of establishing a Pan-European ballistics and crime information intelligence network and to propose solutions, including a demonstrator prototype system. This chapter reviews the overall findings from the Odyssey Project and the key features of the prototype.