Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement Brief on Collaboration to Combat Violent Crime in Southern Indiana
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Columbus Field Division, the Indiana State Police, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, and the Evansville Police Department provided a briefing on collaborative efforts to reduce violent crime in Southern Indiana, including the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) and the formation of a Crime Gun Intelligence Center in Evansville.
Daryl McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division, provided information about the NIBIN program, which is administered nationally by ATF. The program allows the comparison of ballistics information across crime scenes. “ATF operates using evidence-based policing,” stated SAC McCormick. “NIBIN is a critical tool to that end; it allows us to link shootings to each other, providing agents and officers with investigative leads that may not have been obvious otherwise.”
John Nokes, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for ATF’s Columbus Field Division, spoke about ATF’s mobile NIBIN van, which has been in Evansville for the past 90 days. The van was available for media to observe.
Captain Rob Priest, Area III Commander for the Indiana State Police touted this joint effort, stating “The Indiana State Police is excited to expand their already extensive partnerships with the public safety agencies in Southwest Indiana, both federal and local, with the construction of this new facility. There is no doubt that NIBIN machine and the task forces associated with maximizing its use will make our communities safer.” ISP Regional Laboratory Manager, Mr. Dan Colbert, discussed ISP’s assets in this effort, including a new lab facility housing a NIBIN machine for inputting ballistics evidence. This will be the first machine in southern Indiana.
Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers spoke about the $698,000 grant that her office was recently awarded from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for the formation of the Evansville-Vanderburgh Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC). The CGIC will target firearms-related crimes by promoting intelligence sharing and analysis between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Prosecutor Moers stated, “The crime rate in Vanderburgh County is unacceptable—particularly as it relates to shots fired—and my office got to work right away to do something about it. I applied for the CGIC grant just over one month into my term as Vanderburgh County Prosecutor and we are proud to be chosen to receive this $700,000 grant for our community.”
“It is my honor to serve the people in Vanderburgh County by starting a CGIC in our community—and to be able to work on this project with our top-notch law enforcement partners at the local, State and Federal level. We will not rest in the fight to make our community safer. I will continue to utilize all resources and man-power available to ensure that Vanderburgh County remains a safe and quality place work, live, and raise a family.”
Evansville Police Department Chief Billy Bolin stated, “The Evansville Police Department is looking forward to working with our law enforcement partners and the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office to be part of the CGIC. Although we already have great partnerships with these agencies, we anticipate that the CGIC will strengthen our teamwork efforts even more and help reduce the gun crime in the Evansville-Vanderburgh County area.”
Additional partners in the new Evansville-Vanderburgh Crime Gun Intelligence Center include the River City Drug Task Force, which is comprised of Drug Enforcement Administration, the Evansville Police Department, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, the Indiana State Police, the Washington Police Department, the Princeton Police Department, the Daviess County (KY) Sheriff’s Office, and the Owensboro (KY) Police Department.
ATF is the lead federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction involving firearms and violent crimes, and enforces criminal and regulatory laws involving bombs, explosives, and arson. More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov.
