Evaluation of the Phoenix Crime Gun Intelligence Center

• NCJ Number: 303321
• Date Published: January 2021
• Length: 68 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2017-DG-BX-002
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored

Annotation

This report presents the findings and methodology of an evaluation of the Phoenix (Arizona) Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), whose mission is to develop and implement intelligence-driven investigations that could “prevent gun violence through the consistent production of timely, precise, and actionable intelligence on gun crime by identifying armed violent offenders for investigation and targeted enforcement.”

Abstract

The evaluation team documented and analyzed the CGIC’s implementation processes and intervention strategies, along with measured impacts. It relied on three sources of official police data and the collective responses to a designed survey of point-of-contact investigators who coordinated the investigations of incidents linked through NIBIN leads. The evaluation of CGIC’s implementation processes, as determined by its written policies and procedures, was consistently executed as planned. Evaluation findings indicate the CGIC was associated with 1) the increased collection of ballistic evidence and the recovery of more guns; 2) increased NIBIN entries and leads; 3) the expedited entry of ballistic evidence; 4) investigators perceiving leads to be more helpful in their investigations than before CGIC; and 5) higher clearance rates for offenses such as homicide, aggravated assault, and discharging a firearm. CGIC did not, however, bring a positive change in prosecutorial outcomes in relevant cases or result in a higher percentage of recovered firearms through traces. A pilot test of the acoustic gunshot detection system (FireFly) demonstrated its potential effectiveness. Overall, the evaluation concluded that the CGIC’s accomplishments in its first 2 years have provided a strong foundation for the next steps in realizing its full potential. 28 tables and 12 references