City of Columbus Launches New Interagency Partnership to Prevent, Reduce Gun Violence
The City of Columbus today
announced a new partnership between the Columbus Division of Police, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to collect, analyze and distribute
information regarding gun-related crimes in a more coordinated and timely
fashion.
Participating agencies will pool
resources and expertise to establish a Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC).
This collaborative, interagency unit will use technology, such as the
ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, and evidence recovered from crime scenes
to better identify, apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of gun violence –
as well as those who sell or supply the firearms used to commit crimes and acts
of violence. The GCIC will feature a dedicated task force consisting of
Columbus Police officers who have been deputized by ATF. Additionally, ATF will
provide training, equipment and workspace to aid the task force and special
agents in their work.
The city will also coordinate
with ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute applicable cases at the
federal level, possibly resulting in harsher sentences and penalties for those
who use firearms to harm others and/or commit crimes.