Auburn Police Department will invest in a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network machine — which, as of Oct. 2024, has generated 175 leads for helping law enforcement solve violent crimes involving firearms.
On Dec. 12, the Washington State Office of the Attorney General announced that it awarded nearly $2 million to 12 local law enforcement agencies across the state for gun violence prevention efforts. According to the AG’s office, the one-time funding resulted from a lawsuit enforcing Washington’s ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines.
In 2023, a King County judge ruled Federal Way Discount Guns violated the law by selling thousands of high-capacity magazines, resulting in a lawsuit. Following the lawsuit, Federal Way Discount Guns agreed to pay the state $3 million. Attorney General Bob Ferguson subsequently chose to dedicate more than $1.8 million to fund 12 local law enforcement efforts to reduce gun violence, promote firearms safety and support victims of gun violence, according to the office.
“We are investing this money in communities to help law enforcement prevent gun violence,” Ferguson said. “Their efforts will improve public safety across Washington.”
Auburn Police Department will receive $203,628 for investigative equipment. According to APD Crime Analyst Joe Ryan, the department will purchase a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network machine that gathers information from fired firearm shell casings.
Ryan said that APD has had tremendous success generating investigative leads from information acquired from fired shell casings, and as of Oct. 2024, 175 leads had been generated. Ryan said they’ve been able to identify guns and people associated with firearms-related crimes.
Ryan said that despite the great success, the process of using the machine comes at a significant cost in terms of time and resources. Ryan said travel time to and from the lab at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab in Seattle and significant competition for time on the machine often make entering evidence a task that can take up a significant amount of a workday.
“Entering one casing should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes once a user is actually on the machine. Commute time and waiting at the lab to use the machine is causing hours of delay for each trip we make,” Ryan said. “Because of the lack of resources mentioned above, we end up with a backlog of guns and casings. Auburn PD is excited to soon have the ability for this work to take place in house.”
