BATAVIA, Oh. — Collaborations between local and federal law enforcement are ramping up in Clermont County.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has deployed its Crime Gun Intelligence Mobile Command Center to Clermont County, now at work in the Village of Batavia.
ATF agents, technology and National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) will work as what the department calls a "base of crime gun intelligence information operations to the many communities in the surrounding area," according to a press release.
The ATF said that the mobile command center will help investigators with crime gun intelligence information. There are four work areas and six workstations; the command center is able to hold up to 16 people working in the space.
Equipment includes tools to help with fingerprinting and DNA swabbing of firearms and evidence. There is also a firearm test-fire that can allow agents and officers the chance to fire weapons for ballistic samples, according to the ATF.
Watch to see an inside look at a collaboration between local and federal law enforcement agencies:
On Thursday afternoon, I visited the unit and saw how law enforcement uses the equipment.
Criminalist Joe Ruchti with the sheriff's office explained how this command unit will work.
“This vehicle contains the technology used to identify ballistic evidence and connect it to crimes," Ruchti said.
“This partnership with ATF strengthens our ability to investigate crime and keep Clermont County safe. Our S.A.F.E. (Surveillance, Analysis and Forensic Evidence) Unit is already helping us process critical evidence, including cell phone data and ballistic evidence, more quickly and right here in Clermont County. By combining these capabilities with ATF’s expertise and resources, we can shorten investigative timelines, build stronger cases, and deliver faster results for our community.”
Ruchti will spend the next few months working inside the van on ballistic and firearms investigations, combining his training and expertise between the ATF's technology and his role in Clermont County's S.A.F.E. unit.
“The better picture you have of the crime data and the instruments used in those crimes, the sooner you’re going to solve the crime and the more effective the prosecution is going to be," Ruchti said
Ruchti shared his excitement to be able to use these tools to keep the people of Clermont County and other neighboring areas safer.
"We're beyond lucky to have this here for us now," Ruchti said.
