Program Goals/Target Population
In 2017 the Phoenix (Arizona) Police Department established the Phoenix Crime Gun Intelligence Center. This is an interagency collaboration focused on the timely collection, management, and analysis of crime gun evidence, such as shell casings and semiautomatic handguns, that may be found at the crime scene. The Phoenix Crime Gun Intelligence Center is focused on intelligence-driven identification, arrest, and prosecution of individuals who have committed violent offenses, to help disrupt criminal activity and prevent future gun violence. The goal of the program is to collect, manage, and analyze crime gun intelligence and improve firearm-related investigative efforts and prosecutorial outcomes in Phoenix.
Program Components
Originally funded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in three cities in 2013, the Crime Gun Intelligence Center model calls for agencies and the ATF to collaborate in collecting, managing, and analyzing crime gun evidence generated by eTrace, an electronic firearm-tracing system, and the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, which handles all ballistic imaging across the United States (King et al., 2013). As of 2020 the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network stored more than four million pieces of ballistic evidence and 45 million images and allowed for information to be shared promptly and efficiently, to encourage collaboration in federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies across the country (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 2021). Through real-time efforts, Crime Gun Intelligence Centers help identify crime gun sources and provide local decisionmakers with the most accurate gun crime data available to increase public safety.
Although Crime Gun Intelligence Centers may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the model is structured around five fundamental principles (Police Foundation, 2017):
- Regardless of the type and severity of a crime, all shell casings and guns at the crime site are immediately collected and treated as evidence.
- Timely processing of National Integrated Ballistics Information Network and eTrace evidence is critical; within the first 24–48 hours of collection, shell casing data are entered into the network and guns are traced through eTrace.
- Across offense types and police districts, dedicated teams coordinate the investigations of linked crimes that are found to have been committed with the same gun.
- Forensic technology is used to investigate and prosecute crimes, as National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, eTrace, gunshot detection systems, and other technologies are employed to focus resources on individuals who use guns.
- Police establish and maintain partnerships among investigative units, federal law enforcement agencies, and the courts, which then direct interagency resources toward high-priority violent individuals.
Phoenix Police Department’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center is 1 of 33 such centers across the country. Housed in the Violent Crime Bureau, Phoenix’s Center is a collaborative partnership involving law enforcement agencies and experts, including the Phoenix Police Crime Laboratory, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, the ATF's Phoenix Field Division, and Arizona State University’s Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety. Each partner has a specific, defined role and responsibilities, and representatives regularly communicate and collaborate to review the program's progress, make decisions, and support the program's overall success (Katz et al., 2021). The process occurs in real time to identify serial shooters, disrupt criminal activity, and prevent future gun violence.
Key Personnel
In Phoenix, the Crime Gun Intelligence Center is staffed with two sergeants, eight National Integrated Ballistics Information Network weapons investigators, six digital forensic evidence detectives, five nonsworn police assistants, a secretary, and a criminal intelligence analyst. The sergeants supervise the investigators, five of whom are sworn ATF Task Force Officers; they coordinate with ATF Field Office agents, who bring together stakeholders from related investigations and contribute investigative resources and expertise, additional staff resources, and eTrace processing. The criminal intelligence analyst oversees the Center’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network processing and generates additional intelligence, with mapping technologies and other resources that support the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network lead investigations. The police assistants are trained to properly swab evidence for DNA, test firearms, and enter evidence. The Phoenix Police Crime Laboratory processes DNA and fingerprints related to investigations and reviews and confirms National Integrated Ballistics Information Network hits. The Phoenix Police Department also trains other agencies’ personnel and permits them to enter evidence into the department’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network equipment, allowing access to more locationally dense information networks.
