TY - JOUR
T1 - Examining the Impact of a Crime Gun Intelligence Center
AU - Flippin, Michaela R.
AU - Katz, Charles M.
AU - King, William R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Academy of Forensic Sciences
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - With gun crime on the rise, efforts to curb this form of violence have captured the attention of government agencies and police departments alike. One form of such efforts is the proliferation of Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs) in police departments across the country. However, with only three non-peer-reviewed evaluations of these CGICs to date, our understanding of their effectiveness is limited. The present study aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of the Phoenix Police Department's (PPD) CGIC on clearance rates and prosecutorial outcomes for gun crimes. The data for this study come from PPD’s Records Management System (RMS), computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, impounded evidence, National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) lead data, and arrest data. Prosecutorial data were supplied by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO). This study examined pretest and posttest differences that occurred over the study period. Difference-in-difference (DID) models were calculated to assess the impact of the CGIC on the outcome measures of interest. We found that from the year prior to the CGIC to 2 years post-CGIC, NIBIN inputs increased by 115%, NIBIN leads increased by 163%, timeliness of entry (of ballistics evidence) improved with 32% of processed items entered within 24–48 h in the second year of the CGIC compared with only 3% the year preceding the CGIC, and clearance rates for arrests increased significantly. These findings have implications for the continued adoption of CGIC, as well as the utility of NIBIN.
AB - With gun crime on the rise, efforts to curb this form of violence have captured the attention of government agencies and police departments alike. One form of such efforts is the proliferation of Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGICs) in police departments across the country. However, with only three non-peer-reviewed evaluations of these CGICs to date, our understanding of their effectiveness is limited. The present study aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of the Phoenix Police Department's (PPD) CGIC on clearance rates and prosecutorial outcomes for gun crimes. The data for this study come from PPD’s Records Management System (RMS), computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, impounded evidence, National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) lead data, and arrest data. Prosecutorial data were supplied by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO). This study examined pretest and posttest differences that occurred over the study period. Difference-in-difference (DID) models were calculated to assess the impact of the CGIC on the outcome measures of interest. We found that from the year prior to the CGIC to 2 years post-CGIC, NIBIN inputs increased by 115%, NIBIN leads increased by 163%, timeliness of entry (of ballistics evidence) improved with 32% of processed items entered within 24–48 h in the second year of the CGIC compared with only 3% the year preceding the CGIC, and clearance rates for arrests increased significantly. These findings have implications for the continued adoption of CGIC, as well as the utility of NIBIN.
KW - ballistic
KW - clearance rates
KW - evaluation
KW - evidence
KW - firearms
KW - gun crime
KW - National Integrated Ballistics Information Network
KW - NIBIN
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121335772&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/crimjust_facpubs/210
U2 - 10.1111/1556-4029.14952
DO - 10.1111/1556-4029.14952
M3 - Article
C2 - 34902163
SN - 0022-1198
VL - 67
SP - 543
EP - 549
JO - Journal of Forensic Sciences
JF - Journal of Forensic Sciences
IS - 2
ER -