COLUMBIA — A proposal was introduced to the Columbia City Council Monday night whether to grant the Columbia Police Department over $200,000 in seized funds to purchase gun identification technology.
The technology would be intended to streamline process for identifying a stolen weapon once it’s in CPD’s possession.
Currently, CPD cannot identify a weapon in-house; the department must send it out of state to be looked at.
Mayor Barbara Buffaloe says the gun identification technology would help with speed of processing by cutting out an extra step.
“That has to be processed up in Cedar Rapids, and they have to go through it and get it back to us,” Buffaloe said. “So, this will allow us to be more efficient.”
Assistant Police Chief Lance Bolinger said the technology would cut the time it takes to identify a firearm from months to days.
“Currently, we have about a two-to-three-month window on any shell casing that we collect,” Bolinger said. “If we’re able to purchase this equipment in-house, we have about a 24-to-48-hour turnaround.”
Buffaloe said this system would also help hold repeat offenders accountable and keep guns out of their hands.
“We need to make sure our local systems are holding them accountable for following the rules of their release,” Buffaloe said. “And that they’re not possessing firearms like they’re not supposed to.”
Each firearm, when manufactured, has small markings that make it unique and identifiable.
According to a memo from the City Council, the purchase is broken down into four items:
- BRASSTRAX Acquisition Station
- PAG800 Stereo Zoom Microscope
- Cartridge Case Training Kit
- Color printer
If the council approves the purchase, CPD will be able to enter evidence from firearm-related crimes into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.
The purchase would also aid CPD in identifying crime trends and cases that involve gun trafficking. The council is scheduled to vote on this during its December 2nd meeting.