VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — On Tuesday, News 3 took a close look at some new tools and technology the Virginia Beach Police Department is using to solve crimes, including shootings, even faster.
Inside the department's Special Operations building is a new room used to test-fire guns that have been used in a crime, particularly those where a suspect may still be at large.
"In a case where we don't know who the suspects are, this helps point us in a direction that needs some context associated with it, but it at least gives us a direction to head," said Dade Chisler of the Forensic Unit at VBPD.
Once a gun is fired, the bullet casing is taken, examined under a microscope, and placed in a database managed by the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network. This database is used by police departments across the country, including those in Hampton Roads, to document whether a gun has been involved in another crime.
"Where we end up seeing the benefits is that it tells us firearms have been present at multiple shooting scenes. From there, we can extrapolate data through the context of the investigation to identify who was actually handling the gun at that time," Chisler said.
This testing process, which once took days or weeks to complete, has now been reduced to about 30 minutes.
"Previously, to perform test fires, we would have to travel to our police range located in Moyock, North Carolina. With the addition of our test fire room, that process has been eliminated," Chisler explained.
Chisler added that the proximity of the testing room is important because the time saved can potentially keep the community safe.
"Any time spent waiting on results is time that the person who pulled the trigger could be pulling the trigger at other crime scenes. If we're able to identify that person and put a name to the suspect involved in that scene, it gives us an investigative lead, allowing us to pursue that down and potentially prevent other shootings from happening in the community."
