INDIANAPOLIS – Local and federal law enforcement partners recently introduced Indianapolis’ Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) to the community. An embrace of the technology-led precision policing model, CGIC allows IMPD and its partners to more effectively target the most violent offenders and their sources of crime guns.
Referring to the first weekend in April when six people were killed by gunfire, “this weekend, we saw the senseless devastation crime guns have on our community,” said Mayor Hogsett. “And so today, we add another tool to our violence reduction toolkit. By focusing on violent individuals, rather than on the areas they victimize, we more effectively hold accountable those who are disproportionately responsible for gun crime in our city.”
The CGIC model focuses on the collection and real-time analysis of crime gun evidence from homicide and non-fatal shootings using forensic technologies. By helping detectives connect a single perpetrator to multiple crime scenes, Indianapolis’ CGIC is generating investigative leads that result in the arrest and prosecution of repeat violent offenders, and the removal of crime guns from the community. Year-to-date, CGIC investigations have yielded 38 arrests and removed 28 crime guns from Indianapolis neighborhoods.
CGIC builds upon the City’s efforts in 2018 to disrupt violent crime and crack down on the illegal possession of firearms by violent criminals. IMPD increased collaboration with law enforcement partners, began training “gun liaison” officers to more effectively collect crime gun evidence, and returned the department to community-based beat policing, allowing officers to build stronger relationships in the neighborhoods they serve. These efforts led to a five-fold increase in the number of leads generated through the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN)
In addition, in March, Mayor Hogsett introduced the three newest Peacemakers, community activists who intervene in violence and connect individuals most at-risk of committing or becoming a victim of violent crime with critical resources like job training, employment, and healthcare. The application for 2019 violence prevention grants will open on April 15.