The knoxville police department (KPD) proposes to implement a regional crime gun intelligence center (CGIC) project to address gun violence through an expansive regional approach that includes more…

The knoxville police department (KPD) proposes to implement a regional crime gun intelligence center (CGIC) project to address gun violence through an expansive regional approach that includes more than 25 partners. The newly established east tennessee regional CGIC will serve the east tennessee region and establish partnerships with the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives that will develop leads to swiftly identify unlawfully used firearms and their sources and enable effective prosecution of individuals engaged in violent crime. Activities include identifying key stakeholders to establish a memorandum of understanding for CGIC integration, hiring a national integrated ballistic information network (NIBIN) technician, firearms examiner trainee and crime analyst, providing training for the forensics unit and supporting site visits to other CGIC locations to identify best practices. Through timely analysis of gun crime evidence, NIBIN acquisitions and collaboration, KPD will provide results within days and weeks, compared to the more than 12-month backlog currently provided by the tennessee bureau of investigation. Expected outcomes resulting from grant funding include collaborative gun crime investigations resulting in increased prosecutions, an augmented staffing capacity and expertise within the KPD forensics unit to address the growing demand for ballistics analysis for CGIC, the timely compilation of NIBIN data, efficient etrace and ness collaboration, and the acquisition of critical and effective equipment.