The Knoxville Police Department has been awarded a $700,000 grant to enhance its ability to quickly identify individuals who are engaged in violent crime, the guns used in those crimes, and their sources.

Last week, it was announced that the KPD had received the maximum $700,000 award through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s 2024 Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Integration Initiative. The grant award is designated for the implementation of a new crime gun intelligence center (CGIC) in collaboration with the ATF.

“We have made significant strides in preventing violence and identifying those driving violent crime in Knoxville, and this grant will only help us build on that work,” Chief of Police Paul Noel said. “Crime gun intelligence centers have an established track record of successfully identifying the small number of the most violent individuals in cities all across the country. This grant will greatly expand our investigative resources and position our department to positively impact gun violence all across the region.”

“Stopping gun violence in our community requires partnership, intentionality, and focus,” said Mayor Indya Kincannon. “This grant will bolster our efforts to get violent criminals off our streets.”

Crime gun intelligence centers are defined as an “interagency collaboration focused on the immediate collection, management, and analysis of crime gun evidence, such as shell casings, in real time, in an effort to identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity, and to prevent future violence. CGICs rely on an ongoing collaboration between the ATF, local police department, the local crime laboratory, probation and parole, local police gang units, prosecuting attorneys, U.S. Attorney’s Office, crime analysts, community groups, and academic organizations.”

Multiple area law enforcement agencies and partners submitted letters of support that were included in the grant application, including the ATF, District Attorney General Charme Allen, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office and University of Tennessee Police Department.

The grant funding will allow the KPD to expand on its already robust firearms and ballistics examination capabilities. The department’s Forensics Unit currently has a three-person team dedicated solely to firearms examination. That team analyzes recovered cartridge casings and firearms in an effort to expediently develop solid investigative leads, potentially connect guns and individuals to crimes through various sources, including the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), and assist in the successful prosecution of violent offenders.

KPD serves as the lead agency for firearms and ballistics examinations in the region, regularly conducting detailed examinations to support investigations into violent crimes that occurred in neighboring jurisdictions.

Knoxville was one of three cities to receive the maximum grant award amount for the implementation of a CGIC. The three-year grant will fund current and additional firearms examination salaries, upgraded equipment and supplies, and travel and training to visit other existing CGIC sites.

More information about the National Crime Gun Intelligence Center Initiative can be found here https://crimegunintelcenters.org/?.