CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY —
The Auburn Police Department (APD), Opelika Police Department (OPD), Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) and the Lee County District Attorney’s Office (LCDAO) have partnered to create the Metro Gun Crimes Task Force (MGCTF). The task force will combine resources from each agency, allowing teams to focus on reducing gun crimes across the Lee County area.
In November 2022, the Auburn Police Department was awarded a federal “Project Safe Neighborhood” grant totaling more than $254,000. The grant is designed to help law enforcement reduce gun crimes in the community through innovative law enforcement technology and procedures. As such, APD used the grant to obtain advanced forensic equipment and enroll in the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).
NIBIN is a nationwide network that will allow MGCTF investigators to rapidly track and link seized firearm evidence to other crimes across the Southeast region. For example, if investigators seize a shell casing from a crime scene in any of their respective jurisdictions, they can rapidly enter the evidence into NIBIN and potentially connect the case to another crime committed with the same firearm in a neighboring city, county or state. While housed at APD, all agencies participating in the MGCTF will have investigators trained in the use of NIBIN with 24/7 access to the system.
In addition to NIBIN training, all officers participating in the MGCTF will be required to attend additional training focused on legal issues, de-escalation techniques, implicit bias awareness and proper tactics for criminal interdiction and patrol.
“Local law enforcement agencies partnering to address and prevent gun crimes is a proactive effort that can’t be measured, but will be impactful,” said APD Chief Cedric Anderson. “We are grateful for the partnership.”
“There are many challenges facing public safety in our communities, state and nation,” said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones. “The prevalence of violent acts involving firearms is a major concern to all and has visited tragedy on our largest cities down to our smallest of towns. Our local agencies, through this task force, will be able to combine efforts and utilize state-of-the-art technology to increase our efficiency and effectiveness to identify and apprehend violent offenders in the overall goal of protecting our citizens.”
“As the police chief for the city of Opelika, I am always looking for ways to make our city safer,” said OPD Chief Shane Healey. “By coordinating our enforcement efforts, this task force becomes a force multiplier for our local agencies. By combining efforts and working together, we hope to drastically reduce the number of illegal guns that are on the streets in our communities.”
“Firearms in combination with a criminal mindset are a real and present threat to the safety of every member of our community,” said Lee County District Attorney Jessica Ventiere. “By working together, our local law enforcement agencies will have a greater impact on reducing criminal activity, particularly gun crimes, all across Lee County. The Lee County District Attorney’s Office will be supporting law enforcement in their efforts, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact this task force will have on the overall safety of our communities.”