Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, alongside state and local law enforcement partners in Cleveland, announced the opening of a new Northeast Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) in Cleveland. The announcement was made with Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio.

“The Northeast Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center will allow us to leverage our partnerships and technological innovation to solve gun crimes and to save lives,” said Attorney General Garland. “When it comes to investigating gun crimes, every day matters. Every day, another lead can run dry. Every day, a repeat shooter may shatter another family and another community. With this CGIC, it does not matter if a crime is committed in a city, a suburb, or a rural area. The law enforcement officers who investigate will have cutting-edge technology at their fingertips and a lineup of experts ready to assist.”

“Following on the success of last year’s intelligence-driven gun crime initiative, this Crime Gun Intelligence Center puts in the same room analysts, agents, cops, deputies, and both federal and state prosecutors,” said ATF Director Dettelbach. “They work together on the same cases using real-time, state-of-the-art intelligence. Every morning, they review key evidence from the previous night’s shootings to identify the shooters. CGICs like this make homicide cases. CGICs like this stop the next shooting. And CGICs like this help stop the crime guns that are getting to the shooters.”

Dettelbach commended ATF Cleveland leadership and various law enforcement agencies for their collaboration under one roof with a focus on real-time ballistics testing and crime gun tracing.

CGICs are centralized law enforcement hubs focusing exclusively on investigating and preventing gun violence in local communities using technologies such as ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and eTrace systems.

“Prosecuting and preventing violent crime throughout our district is one core mission of the United States Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney Lutzko. “The incredible capabilities of the Crime Gun Intelligence Center — and the federal, state, and local partnerships that make it possible — allow us to connect the dots between crimes so we can prosecute, convict, and lock up bad actors who commit violent crimes.”

Daryl McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division stated: “This CGIC represents both a broadening and deepening of that cooperation and commitment... I firmly believe that this effort will help us identify, investigate, and prosecute those individuals who are harming our communities.”

The Northeast Ohio CGIC is unique as it is located within an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force which supports proactive investigative work incorporating OCDETF funds and resources.

Over 30 agencies across federal, state, and local law enforcement are partners in this new CGIC focusing on comprehensive ballistics testing and firearms tracing.