Gwinnett County Police creates new initiative to combat gun violence

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga - Gwinnett County Police have a new way to combat gun violence. They are combining technology, investigations, and community awareness.

The department has started a new Gun Crimes Unit. They are taking a focused look at guns used in street crimes, where they came from, and if the weapons can be linked to other crimes.

Police say in 83 percent of the shootings they have investigated, no one was hurt. The unit will study information from those crimes to try to prevent future crimes.

"We thought if we could impact those incidents earlier, maybe we could prevent some of these crimes from happening," said Sgt. Jennifer Richter.

As part of their new gun crimes initiative, police are also focusing on community awareness to help prevent guns from ending up in the wrong hands.

"Ninety-one percent of guns stolen in the county were stolen out of vehicles," said Sgt. Richter.

Police are also using technology. Crime scene investigations can use an Integrated Ballistic Identification System to get extreme close-ups of shell casings collected from crime scenes.

"It takes microscopic images in a 3D scan," said Investigator Kelsie Nettinger.

The images show the unique characteristics of the shell casing.

"Basically a fingerprint of the gun cartridge case," said Investigator Nettinger.

The information is sent to the ATF in Atlanta and could play a major role in solving crimes.

"The fingerprint will tell you if this fired cartridge case is related to another crime scene," said Nettinger.

"Really hoping working with this new technology we'll be able to generate new leads from those shell casings," said Sgt. Richter.

Police say they have already had some success with shell casings from crime scene here linked to crimes in other states.

The department is also offering gun safety classes for the community. The first one will be March 15. There will be another one April 12. Registration is required for the class.