(The Center Square) – A new grant designed to develop investigations into crime guns evidence is headed to Connecticut.
The U.S. Department of Justice has doled out a $700,000 grant, the first of its kind, to the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, Gov. Ned Lamont said, which will be used to create and develop the Connecticut Crime Gun Intelligence Center. The department falls under the direction of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
“The creation of this unified, statewide interface will make it easier for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and the state forensic laboratory to easily share data on the forensics of gun crimes in real time, with the goal of identifying those involved in criminal activity and preventing future crimes from happening,” Lamont said in a release. “This center will be a collaborative effort and significantly improve the ability to share evidence-based data.”
The federal funding, according to the release, will be used to help the lab collect, manage, and analyze crime gun evidence, including shell casings, identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity, and prevent future violent crimes.
The lab, according to the release, will serve as an interface between the lab’s information management system and law enforcement record management systems that will streamline sharing data on guns that are used in crimes. The initiative will also be a collaboration between the lab, the state police, Gun Tracing Task Force, and federal agencies, including the FBI, ATF, and local law enforcement.
Law enforcement agencies, under the collaboration, will have real time access to information paired with leads in the nationwide firearm casing database, which are distributed to agencies investigating gun crimes.
“I appreciate the support of the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in establishing this innovative strategy to solve crimes more effectively by bridging science with investigations,” Dr. Guy Vallaro, director of the Division of Scientific Services at the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said in a release.
Connecticut’s fiscal year 2023 budget allocated $4.1 million in state and federal funding to the lab, according to the release, in an effort to complete criminal investigations and clear a backlog of court cases.