You might not expect that what’s new in law enforcement would be located in a building on a college campus, surrounded by academic and corporate offices. But that’s exactly where the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has opened a new National Crime Gun Intelligence (CGI) Center of Excellence, and the successful partnerships are proving it’s in just the right place. 

The Innovation Campus located at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, was created to bring together “resources, ideas, expertise and student talent to make the world a better place.” Many companies and public agencies have established a presence there, taking the opportunity to collaborate with the academic community and with each other. Research centers have been established in disciplines as varied as aviation technology, virtual engineering, and behavioral health. 

This unusual partnership is bearing fruit, and many more benefits are ahead. At the center’s opening on May 8, ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said, “In addition to being a hub for research and training,” the new center provides the opportunity “to expand critical intelligence services so that we can help police officers, homicide detectives, and gang units across the country close more gun cases faster than ever.”

But this real-time intelligence advantage is just one of many benefits of this partnership. The Wichita facility also houses the National CGI Governing Board. Established in 2016, the board leverages the collective experience of local, state, and federal experts working in forensics, law enforcement, and criminal law to ensure ATF receives valuable input on national programs relating to CGI. Members of the Board include Federal law enforcement officials, U.S. and States’ Attorneys, and local law enforcement executives from across America. Through this board’s input, ATF decisionmakers who shape crime gun intelligence policy can hear directly from users on issues that affect them. 

The CGI Center of Excellence will also house a second National Correlation and Training Center for the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NBIN). As Director Dettelbach noted at the center’s opening, “this center will have a real impact on solving violent crimes for our law enforcement partners nationwide – they will be solving violent gun crime with a match made in Wichita.” NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the 3D imaging and comparison of ballistic evidence recovered from crime scenes. The current NIBIN National Correlation and Training Center, located in Huntsville, Alabama, conducts approximately 1,700 correlations per day for law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Bringing the second correlation center online at the CGI Center of Excellence allows ATF to expand its correlation services, creating the capacity to provide NIBIN correlations to additional law enforcement agencies, resulting in more crime gun intelligence leads for our law enforcement partners nationwide. ATF’s correlation services are provided at no cost to law enforcement.  This center will also allow ATF to expand their leadership and technical training to ATF’s law enforcement partners in acquisition and correlation training.

Another aim of the CGI Center of Excellence is to broaden knowledge and sharpen skills within the law enforcement community. The Center of Excellence will deliver unprecedented training and collaboration opportunities in the area of CGI. Curricula are being developed to serve every level of law enforcement practitioner, from executives to patrol officers.  And the learning doesn’t end there: the Center of Excellence will also serve as a hub for academics from across the country to collaborate and share research findings, ensuring the advancement of crime gun intelligence well into the future. This partnership between academia and law enforcement will allow new perspectives and broaden understanding on both sides.