Evaluation of the Milwaukee Police Department's Crime Gun Intelligence Center

• NCJ Number: 254514
• Author(s): Christopher Koper; Heather Vovak; Brett Cowell
• Date Published: September 2019
• Length: 51 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-DG-BX-0014
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Award: Milwaukee Police Crime Gun Intelligence Center

Annotation

This is the final report on the evaluation of the Milwaukee Police Department's (MPD's) Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), which conducts the systematic collection and analysis of ballistics evidence collected from both crime scenes and test firings of recovered firearms.

Abstract

The first part of this report documents the CGIC program as it operated during the study period. The core of the CGIC initiative involves the systematic collection and analysis of ballistics evidence from crime scenes and test firings of recovered firearms. This ballistics evidence is scanned into the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN). This enables analysts to compare images of ballistics evidence across cases nationwide to identify gun crimes that may have involved the same firearm. This assists investigators in identifying crimes that are likely to have been committed by the same offender or by offenders who used the same firearm. The second part of this report presents three series of analyses conducted by the Milwaukee CGIC's research partners in assessing the potential and actual impacts of the CGIC initiative on gun-related investigations and gun crime in Milwaukee. Analysis of the data indicates that ballistics evidence produced through NIBIN testing is helping the MPD focus on repeat shooters and networks of active offenders who account for approximately half of fatal and non-fatal shootings in Milwaukee. Thus, the CGIC program has significant potential for reducing gun crime in Milwaukee. 19 tables and 4 figures