CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Local law enforcement across Southern West Virginia are joining those on a federal level for a day to learn more about new forensic technology and crime-solving resources that help expedite violent investigations involving firearms and further amp up safety within communities.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Louisville Division partnered up with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Charleston Police Department among other state and local law enforcement agencies for regional training Tuesday at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
ATF of West Virginia Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow said it’s to ensure local police units are kept up-to-date on this new crime-solving technology.
“Specifically, we’re talking on different techniques that local law enforcement might incorporate in local investigations to make sure they’re targeting the most violent offenders in their communities,” Morrow said. “The idea is to make sure they have the resources needed to investigate those crimes.”
He said it also gives local police the opportunity to forge strong relationships with the ATF and other federal government agencies so they can collectively work together in keeping communities safer.
Morrow said representatives from more than 20 law enforcement agencies and prosecutors offices came out to the training Tuesday.
He said collaborations between local, state, and federal investigators have never been more crucial.
“We know that violent offenders in particular, they don’t necessarily operate in one judicial district or in one county or city, they often cross judicial boundaries and so it’s important for law enforcement all across the region to communicate well,” he said.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson added that the collaborative effort between the agencies is a really good thing that teaches local officers a lot of new ideas and techniques.
“We were able to build upon relationships, we were able to learn, there was some good new information submitted such as use of machine gun conversion kits and things of that nature that I think is going to help us a lot in trying to stop crime here in the Southern district of West Virginia,” Thompson said.
The training offered best practices and shared public safety threats and different trends law enforcement are seeing within their communities.
Thompson said as criminals start utilizing more technology, law enforcement officers must stay up-to-date on it more than ever, such as the use of 3D printers to make illegal guns.
Morrow said one of the ATF’s goals was to make sure local law enforcement have an understanding and training of different federal resources that are available to them in their investigations, such as the the national tracing center, NIBIN, or National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.
NIBIN mobile unit
He said this technology unit helps connect multiple crime scenes through ballistic evidence and develop investigative leads. Morrow said the NIBIN unit helps get immediate answers on crime-related details.
“The purpose of this truck and equipment is to go out and work with investigators so they can do test-fires of their crime guns, so they can enter their crime scene casings into the NIBIN system and immediately get results back through the ATF crime-gun intelligence center to draw investigative leads,” said Morrow.
Thompson said the partnership between the agencies only continues to grow and they are seeing good results because of it.
“One of the things I’m trying to do as U.S. Attorney is to make everybody on the same page,” Thompson said. “I think we’re seeing some really good results because of that, from our city police officers to our deputies to our state troopers to our federal law enforcement.”
A similar training event is expected to be held in Martinsburg in the next couple of days.