Program Profile: Denver (Colorado) Crime Gun Intelligence Center

The program focuses on reducing violent gun crime by disrupting the cycle of gun violence by relying on forensic science and data analysis to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals who use guns in criminal activity, and the sources of their guns. The program is rated No Effects. The program did not significantly affect homicides or aggravated assaults with a firearm but was shown to significantly reduce violent crime and robbery with a firearm.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals/Target Population

Denver, Colorado’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) aims to reduce violent gun/firearm crime in the Denver metropolitan area by aiding law enforcement with real-time collection, processing, and analysis of guns used in criminal activity and cartridge casings; identifying active shooters; disrupting criminal networks; and preventing violence. CGIC focuses on disrupting the cycle of gun violence by relying on forensic science and data analysis to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals who use guns in criminal activity, and the sources of their guns.

Program Components

CGICs are an interagency collaboration focused on the real-time collection, management, and analysis of crime gun evidence (e.g., shell casing) to identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity, and prevent future violence. Collaboration efforts rely on ongoing relationships involving the local police departments, the local crime laboratory, the local probation and parole departments, local police gang units, prosecuting attorneys, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, crime analysts, community groups, academic organizations, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The desired outcome of a CGIC is to identify armed individuals who commit violent offenses for investigation and prosecution. Other outcomes include 1) identifying sources of gun crime, 2) efficient allocation of available resources, 3) providing accurate crime data and analysis, 4) increasing court case closure rates and public safety, and 5) preventing violent crime committed with firearms (Crime Gun Intelligence Centers N.d.).

Denver was the first city to implement a CGIC, in 2013. The initial implementation involved a collaboration among ATF, detectives from Denver Police Department, the Denver crime lab, and administrative support from the Denver, Aurora, and Lakewood Police Departments. The city of Denver deployed ShotSpotter technology in an effort to receive more precise location information on gun crimes to increase the likelihood of obtaining ballistic forensic evidence.

An integral component of Denver’s CGIC is the use of the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is a national database that automates ballistics evidence such as images of fired cartridge casing and guns used in criminal activity, to examine and match previously submitted data. Denver’s CGIC enters all fired cartridge case evidence collected at crime scenes and test-fired cartridge cases from all auto-loading pistols recovered by partner agencies. The NIBIN process—including evidence collection, data entry, database correlation, and confirmation of matches—is completed 24 to 72 hours following collection of the evidence. Another component of Denver’s CGIC is the eTrace system, which is linked to the NIBIN database and tracks firearm information from manufacturer to purchaser to identify whether a firearm is trafficked or stolen. By using both the NIBN and eTrace, Denver’s CGIC can track guns used in criminal activity and identify linkages between cases within and across jurisdictions. Comprehensive crime gun tracing through eTrace is initiated within 48 hours of collection of evidence. Intelligence produced by Denver’s CGIC is disseminated to partners to arrest, prosecute, and convict individuals who commit gun crimes. Collaboration agencies are tasked with pursuing all actionable intelligence with available investigative and enforcement resources (White and Franey 2014).

Additional Information

In 2019, Denver’s CGIC expanded to increase collaboration in the Denver metropolitan area with the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (or RAVEN). This extension allows the Denver CGIC to assist neighboring jurisdictions in reducing violent firearm crime and increasing the scope of NIBIN searches

Study 1

Uchida and colleagues (2020) used an interrupted time series design to examine the impact of Denver’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) on reductions of gun crime. The evaluation was conducted with the city of Denver and the neighborhoods within the city limits. As of 2019 the city of Denver recorded a population of 727,211 residents. Also as of 2019, the city’s population was 76 percent white, 30 percent Hispanic or Latino, 9 percent Black, 4 percent Asian, 1 percent American Indian, and 4 percent two or more races. The reported median household income was $63,793 and the poverty rate was 14 percent (U.S. Census Bureau 2019).

A key feature to the time series design is a sequence of observations taken before and after the intervention occurs. Denver’s GCIC began operations in January 2013; therefore, for the purposes of this evaluation, the period of January 2010 to December 2016 (84 months) was used for examining the impact of CGIC. The comparison group is the time period before the CGIC began operations, and the treatment group is the time period after the GCIC began operations. During 2010–16, Denver experienced an average of 113 violent crimes with firearms, 74 aggravated assaults, 36 robberies, and 3 homicides with a firearm per month. A criminal event was defined as involving a firearm if the Denver Police Department recorded the presence or use of any handgun, rifle, or other non-homemade firearm. Serious violent crimes with firearms were defined as an aggregate measure of homicides, sexual assaults, robberies, and aggravated assaults involving a firearm.

Ordinary least squares and negative binomial segmented regression analysis with Newey–West adjusted standard errors were used to estimate the impact of CGIC over the years 2010 through 2016 on four measures of gun crime: violent crime with a firearm, homicide with a firearm, robbery with a firearm, and aggravated assault with a firearm. The CrimeSolutions review of this study focused on the measure of violent crime with a firearm. The Denver Police Department provided data on all crime incidents and calls for service spanning January 2010 through June 2020.

All Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) collaborators operate under a formal memorandum of understanding that provides direction on the day-to-day supervision and administrative control of personnel assigned to CGIC. These agreements include guidance on the policies partners must adhere to and the exchange of information and confidentiality requirements. The agreements also include investigative methods and techniques, and other topics such as the standards of evidence handling, electronic surveillance protocols, de-confliction, jurisdiction and prosecutions, media releases, dispute resolution, liability, duration, and future modification (White and Franey 2014). Further information on Crime Gun Intelligence Centers can be found on their website, https://crimegunintelcenters.org/. Information on the expansion to the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (RAVEN) can be found on their website, https://www.auroragov.org/residents/public_safety/police/special_assignments/raven.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Reducing Gun Violence

Reducing gun violence is a persistent public policy concern for communities, policymakers and leaders. To reduce gun violence, several strategies have been deployed including public health approaches (e.g., training and safe gun storage); gun buy-back programs; gun laws; and law enforcement strategies. The practice is rated Promising for reducing violent gun offenses.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Crime & Delinquency - Violent offenses

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?