WPD, ATF Hold Crime Gun Summit
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In combating gun crime in communities both large and small, communication is key. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Louisville Division and Wheeling Police Department came together Wednesday to drive that point home.
The ATF Louisville Division and WPD hosted a crime gun summit at WPD headquarters Wednesday, bringing law enforcement officials from several communities together to discuss best practices in fighting gun crime and letting the representatives from those departments know just what is available to help them.
According to ATF Special Agent Shawn Morrow, understanding the resources available from the state and federal level is extremely important for local law enforcement. In a state like West Virginia, filled with smaller police departments, those resources could be the difference-maker in solving crimes.
"When you have small to midsize police departments, it's extremely important that we work together," Morrow said, "that we're all pulling in the same direction and that we're making all of the technology available to keep our public safe."
Among the day's discussions were talking about federal resources available to state and local agencies, including the ATF's national tracing center, the country's only crime gun tracing facility. They discussed best practices to make sure police departments are tracing their crime guns in order to determine their source. Then they can identify trafficking patterns and disrupt them to take contraband firearms off the streets.
They also talked about sharing information and participating in the ATF's National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. With that, law enforcement can compare evidence not just in one city, but across jurisdictions.
"Wheeling is unique in that we have two other state borders close by," Morrow said.
"As law enforcement officers, sometimes we can focus our attention on our own jurisdiction, but it's important that we operate in a manner where we can share information widely."
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said there was plenty of useful information that was provided during Wednesday's event.
"There were a lot of training tidbits and trends, what they're seeing in some of the larger cities that ultimately is going to come this way, which is what we see constantly," he said. "But at the end of the day, it's about learning who Shawn Morrow is. These are folks where this is part of their area of responsibility. It's about getting their numbers and having conversations with them."