Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley announced that the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO) Crime Strategies Unit (CSU) was awarded the Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative Grant—a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ). The grant will help enhance the Cuyahoga County Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC).
“Gun violence has been vexing this county and crippling the safety of residents and visitors of our community,” said O’Malley. “This grant will significantly help us and our law enforcement agency partners in identifying and reducing violent firearm crime.”
CGIC Initiative
The CGIC initiative supports interagency collaboration and their efforts to prevent violent crime by identifying individuals, linking criminal activities, and identifying sources of criminal firearms to identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity and prevent future violence.
The primary objectives of the CGIC initiative include the identification of armed violent offenders, the prosecution of armed violent offenders, the identification of criminal firearms sources, providing law enforcement agencies with the most accurate crime data available, and increasing public safety through the prevention of violent crime committed with firearms.
Due to an increase in violent crime, the CGIC was established in 2018 with the goal of utilizing intelligence, technology, and community engagement to investigate criminal firearm use, criminal firearm sources, and effectively prosecute individuals engaged in violent crime.
The CGIC comprises members from the CCPO, the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the Adult Parole Authority, and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office (CCMEO).
The CGIC utilizes the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to capture and compare ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing multi-jurisdictional violent crimes involving firearms. As a result, the CGIC Analysis Center is housed and coordinated at the CCPO.
Enhancing Operations
As a result of the center, the amount of CGIC prosecutions have doubled in the past year. The fund from the grant awarded by the USDOJ will be utilized to enhance the CGIC through the following:
- Implement an investigator for the CCPO’s CSU focused on criminal firearm investigations and to act as a liaison between county-wide law enforcement agencies
- Increase funding for the CCMEO to amplify firearm and ballistic processing
- Implement an Investigative Research Specialist for the CDP’s Real-Time Crime Center to assist with firearm investigations
The Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Intelligence Center Integration Initiative Grant was awarded in partnership with the CCMEO and the CDP. Along with the CCPO, the CCMEO and the CDP are subrecipients of the grant.
CSU History
In 2015, the CCPO formed the CSU to coordinate efforts with multiple police departments, other law enforcement agencies, and community stakeholders to implement strategies for decreasing violent crime and to be a central repository of information collection and dissemination to law enforcement agencies county-wide.
The unit is comprised of five assistant prosecuting attorneys, five crime analysts, one investigator, and one paralegal. The CSU reviews violent offenses (homicides, robberies, shootings) and weapons violations for patterns/connections between incidents and prepares materials for distribution to law enforcement agencies.
Republished courtesy of Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.