Mobile Gun Units Come To Southern West Virginia To Assist Officers In Tracking Violent Crimes

Charleston, W.; - Local law enforcement agencies are now being trained to use high-tech assistance to help them address gun violence in communities where the need is most urgent.

US Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson joined the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking District Program at two locations Tuesday to announce the arrival of mobile crime weapons units.

On Tuesday, the AFT's National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) mobile unit was stationed at the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office in Beckley and again at the West Virginia Police Academy in Dunbar.

AFT Appalachia is working with HIDTA to deploy units to law enforcement agencies in the southern West Virginia region. Officers are trained to operate the unit and assist in investigations by analyzing ballistic evidence of gun crimes.

“If we obtain a gun in Mercer County, we can know that it was used at a crime scene in Chicago or somewhere similar, and that helps us better understand and ultimately identify the person who possessed the gun. ”. Thompson said.

As a unique national investigative and intelligence network, the NIBIN mobile unit will provide law enforcement agencies with the ability to capture and collate ballistic evidence and correlate firearms from multiple crime scenes. This allows officers to stop shooting faster and to investigate and prevent violent crimes involving the use of firearms.

Each firearm leaves a clear mark on its cartridges, said Sean Morrow, AFT Special Agent in Charge. So if a firearm was used in a crime and the shell casings were left at the scene, the evidence is inconclusive about that weapon.

"If the police later detect a firearm, we can test the fire and those cases will be linked to the original crime scene. This is valuable information for investigators to determine if the person in possession of that weapon could be related to a crime. violent". Morrow said.

Morrow said that the collected evidence is entered into the NIBIN system through digital images. The AFT National Primary Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama receives and analyzes images submitted to law enforcement and allows officers to collect information if the information is returned within 24 to 48 hours.

Moreau said he doesn't always give them the right information about the crime, but he does give them the most important leads.

“We can't always prove in court who carried out the shooting, but if we know someone was responsible, we can focus our resources on that person or organization,” Morrow said.

Thompson said there is a lot of violent crime throughout the county, especially in Raleigh and Mercer counties.

Raleigh County Sheriff JC Canada said the technology is improving cooperation between law enforcement agencies and he hopes it can be used more to help reduce violent crime in the area.

“The more people who benefit from it and the more information we need to have access to the NIBIN system, the greater the benefit for everyone who uses it. You know, if we get good information, we will also be good information.”

"The primary goal is to make our community safer and reduce drug and violent crime," Canady added.

Tours and demonstrations led by the NIBIN unit were held after each press conference on Tuesday.

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