Agenda Date: 07/02/2019
Subject:
Title
Resolution 33-2019: Approving a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Littleton Police Department (LPD), Denver Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF&E), for the evaluation and entry of firearm evidence into the BrassTrax System for correlation on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN)
Body
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Prepared by: |
Doug Stephens, Chief of Police |
PURPOSE:
The MOU defines roles and responsibilities regarding the scheduling and submission of evidence for entry into the NIBIN database and any associated follow-up. The MOU will allow the LPD to submit all shell casing evidence recovered in the City of Littleton for examination in the national database. This will help link gun crimes across jurisdictional boundaries increasing identification, investigation, and prosecution of dangerous offenders committing multiple gun crimes throughout the region.
PRESENTATIONS:
Staff Presenter(s): Doug Stephens, Chief of Police
Additional Presenter(s): N/A
SUMMARY:
NIBIN is a national database of digital images of spent bullets and cartridge cases found at crime scenes or test-fired from confiscated weapons. Law enforcement agencies throughout the country have historically submitted this type of evidence on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of the crime involved.
In recent years, the BATF&E has partnered with large metropolitan police agencies, including Denver, to form Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs). The CGIC’s mission is to collect and analyze all ballistic evidence, regardless of severity of crime type, in an effort to identify firearms, and ultimately those using them, in multiple gun-related crimes which often occur across different jurisdictions. For example, a shots fired call in Littleton may result in no victim but a suspect arrested for a minor firearms violation. Normally, shell casings recovered in this example would not be submitted for examination since there is no victim in this minor crime. As part of this MOU, the LPD would submit these casings to the Denver Police Crime Lab for examination and entry into the NIBIN database and subsequent follow-up by the Denver CGIC. In this hypothetical example, the Denver CGIC gets a “hit” on the Littleton shell casings as linked to a burglary in Thornton with shots fired and no suspects, and to an aggravated assault in Englewood with a victim shot in the leg. The suspect arrested in Littleton can now be linked to the two serious felony crimes through the possession of the weapon that ejected the spent casings. The LPD’s submission of these shell casings would not have occurred absent this MOU and therefore the two violent crimes would have remained unsolved in this example.
PRIOR ACTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS:
N/A
ANALYSIS:
Staff Analysis
Participation in this MOU is a valuable addition to the investigative ability of the LPD and enhances the safety of the Littleton community. Participation will cause some additional workload for the LPD laboratory technicians and investigations personnel; however, staff believes this will be variable due to the normally low frequency of firearms-related offenses in Littleton. The additional workload will also be balanced by greater likelihood of identification and prosecution of criminals committing multiple crimes in and around Littleton.
Fiscal Impacts
There is no financial cost to participate in this MOU.
Alternatives
If the LPD does not participate in this MOU and it would continue to process firearms evidence on a case-by-case basis depending on the seriousness of the crime. This will limit the department’s ability to identify and prosecute criminals involved in violent gun crimes in Littleton.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends council approve the resolution approving the MOU between the Littleton Police Department, Denver Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve the resolution approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the Littleton Police Department, Denver Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the evaluation and entry of firearm evidence into the BrassTrax System for correlation on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).