Akron officials are hoping a new centralized intelligence network will help law enforcement solve gun crimes more quickly.
The new Crime Gun Intelligence Center will help police departments in Summit County and surrounding areas more quickly track weapons and solve crimes, officials announced in a news conference Thursday.
Mayor Shammas Malik and Akron Police Chief Brian Harding announced the opening alongside federal and state officials, including Acting Special Agent in Charge John Smerglia of the Columbus division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
“Today, local, state and federal partners took a concrete action to make our community safer, to make Akron safer, to make our surrounding municipalities and counties safer,” Malik said during the news conference.
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati have already launched CGICs.
According to ATF, the intelligence centers are “an interagency collaboration designed to collect, analyze and distribute intelligence data about crime guns, mass shootings, and major incidents across multiple jurisdictions.”
The center will give law enforcement in the region access to more resources and investigative techniques, and help agencies collaborate with each other, Smerglia added.
Officials also announced the arrests of more than 30 people Thursday morning allegedly involved in federal offenses, including illegal possession of firearms and drug trafficking. Fifty guns were recovered during the 60-day investigation, Smerglia said.
“They all had a purpose. They all were going to be used in something illicit, something illegal,” he said. “What’s most important is that they're now in our custody."
The new intelligence center will build on this effort, Smerglia added.
“Today's operation is not the end of the story. Actually, today is the beginning of the story for Akron, Summit County, Portage County and our surrounding areas,” he said.
The announcement came amid a national conversation about gun violence in cities. Earlier this year, Vice President JD Vance called Akron, Canton and Cleveland “lawless.”
The new intelligence center and gun operation announced Thursday are proof that Akron is actively working to curb violence, Malik said.
“This is an indication that we are working every day to make sure people are safe, and you know, I don't want to pretend that we don't have challenges,” Malik said. “One shooting is too many in this community, and we see far too many shootings, and so this is one way we're addressing it and we are going to continue to announce things as we move forward.”
None of the people arrested Thursday morning had any connection to some recent high-profile shootings in Akron. In July, an unnamed suspect fired into a crowd of young people outside Mason Community Learning Center. Five people were injured by gunshots and 10 were injured by cars trying to leave the scene. A person of interest has been identified but no arrests have yet been made, according to police.
Last year, one person was killed and nearly dozens were injured in a shooting at a neighborhood block party. No arrests have been made in this case either.
The new intelligence center will give police better resources that Harding hopes will help them process bullet and ballistic information quicker, he said.
“In the past, [it] may have taken us seven to 14 days to get it in, get it processed, get an entry and get the information back so we could be looking at two-week-old, more stale information," Harding said. “Now, we’re down closer to three days. Our gold standard is to try to get that under two days.”
The center will be located in Akron and used by multiple agencies, he said.
That will allow for better communication in investigations, Harding said.
“Gun crime doesn't stop just in the city border. It could be related to something that occurs in a community outside of ours, and having those partnerships in the room allows us to work quickly together, put those pieces together,” Harding said.
