Fact Sheet - Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGIC)
Fast Facts
ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Centers serve as intelligence hubs and coordination centers for local, state and federal responses to mass shootings and other major crimes involving firearms.
CGICs use cutting-edge forensic science and crime gun evidence to support the investigation and prosecution of violent criminals.
CGICs are an interagency collaboration between ATF, law enforcement agencies, forensics labs, academic institutions and prosecutors committed to stopping gun crimes.
ATF launched its Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs) in July 2016 as an interagency collaboration designed to collect, analyze and distribute intelligence data about crime guns, mass shootings, and major incidents across multiple jurisdictions. CGICs provide investigative leads and support to crime gun intelligence initiatives across the United States and beyond.
CGICs use vital tools such as the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to support their mission. Analysts use NIBIN to collect and compare digital scans of guns and cartridge casings found at crime scenes across the country. Law enforcement officials use the potential matches or “leads” that NIBIN generates to identify links between shootings and other firearms-related cases in different jurisdictions.
ATF CGICs take a preventative approach to violent crime by targeting and prosecuting the sources of crime guns. Their key tool in this effort is eTrace, a secure, web-based law enforcement network run by ATF’s National Tracing Center. The system assists the NTC and other law enforcement agencies during their comprehensive traces of recovered crime guns from manufacturing to the last legal purchase. Investigators use this data to uncover patterns of firearms trafficking, identify illegal and “straw” firearms purchasers, and develop leads to recover firearms used in violent crimes.
CGICs are staffed by ATF special agents, industry operations investigators, other law enforcement agencies, forensics experts, intelligence specialists and prosecutors focused on stopping violent gun crimes. These close partnerships allow CGICs to provide actionable intelligence that is specific to local communities, resulting in more communication, investigative leads, and prosecutions.
The Numbers
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Combating Violent Crime
CGICs disrupt the shooting cycle by identifying and prosecuting shooters and their sources of crime guns. These continued efforts directly support the Department of Justice’s Operation Relentless Pursuit and Project Guardian initiatives.
Additional Resources
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Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives
www.atf.gov
