Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has answered the call to support Operation Legend by bringing our Special Agents, technical expertise, and unique capabilities to the operation.

Operation Legend is a sustained, systematic, and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime. The operation launched July 8 in Kansas City, Missouri, to assist America’s cities plagued by violence.

As part of Operation Legend, the U.S. Attorney General directed the ATF, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and DEA to significantly increase resources into Chicago and Albuquerque to help state and local officials fight high levels of violent crime, particularly gun violence.

To further support the Chicago Police Department in reducing violent crime, ATF has deployed its national Crime Gun Intelligence Mobile Command Center to assist with analysis of crime scenes and spent shell casings through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.

NIBIN is the only national network that can capture and compare ballistic evidence to help solve and prevent violent crimes involving firearms.

The ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Mobile Command Center provides investigators with crime gun intelligence information in a mobile office environment. This facility on wheels is equipped with four rooms and six workstations with the ability to accommodate up to 16 people working comfortably.

One room has NIBIN equipment, including two BrassTrax acquisition/imaging units, and a MatchPoint analysis/review, an examiner workstation and a conference table. This workspace is also used to facilitate fingerprinting and DNA swabbing of firearms and evidence prior to entry into NIBIN.

The vehicle also has a firearm test-fire room with ballistic and soundproof material surrounding the room for test firing weapons to obtain ballistic samples.

ATF will also make available additional resources to assist the City of Chicago in providing timely, efficient analysis of ballistic evidence from shootings in order to quickly disrupt violent criminals and prosecute those prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.

The ATF resources committed to Operation Legend will:

• Combat violent crime and disrupt the shooting cycle
• Link shootings with 24/7 Access to NIBIN
• Quickly process ballistic evidence
• Extract DNA from firearms
• Trace firearms
• Produce investigative leads within hours

Operation Legend is named after four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed while he slept early in the morning of June 29 in Kansas City.

ATF is the lead federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction involving firearms and violent crimes, and regulates the firearm industry. More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov.

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