The Brookhaven Police Department is saving money and time with new ballistics system technology.
Special Agent Benjamin Gibbons, responsible for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Atlanta field office, spoke at the Brookhaven City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
Gibbons commended the Brookhaven Police Department Crime Scene Investigation unit on its first National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) lead to further investigations in Brookhaven and Metro Atlanta.
“With the support of grant funding and with your approval, we have been able to adopt our own ballistic testing system,” Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley said.
Since April, BPD has entered into the ballistics system more than 120 shell casings from firearms used in crimes in Brookhaven, generating over 20 leads to investigate, Gurley said.
“We were able to work towards providing victims with closure in their gun-related cases,” Gurley said.
Gurley described a case in which officers responded to a vehicle being shot in 2022; five shell casings were located and recovered at the scene. Due to evidence collection and ballistics testing, a juvenile male was taken into custody when his weapon matched the scene of two other crimes – one crime more than two years later – involving gun shots.
“Our investigation revealed that this suspect was responsible for the earlier shootings and was charged accordingly,” Gurley said.
At the meeting, city council members also approved a resolution to extend an agreement between the city and Axon Enterprise for equipment and digital evidence management services. BPD’s first responder program is expanding from four to eight dock-based drones with four launch sites.
Since its start in 2020, first responder drones have been located in high-call volume areas – Buford Highway corridor and Peachtree Road corridor – covering about 45 percent of the city. Currently, the drones are operated 12 hours per day, seven days a week, and the average response time is 70 seconds.
“We also have this ongoing threat that because the drones that we use are manufactured in China, they could be taken away from us via legislation either at the state or the federal level,” Capt. Abrem Ayana said.
By expanding American-made drone coverage to all four districts, BPD will be able to respond to 80 percent of calls within 90 seconds, 24 hours a day. A partnership with Axon will bring all drones, body cameras, and dash cameras into one system, saving money.
Annual operating expenses totalled $451,000 for professional services to operate the drones and $678,000 for tasers, body cameras, dash cameras, tasers, and digital storage. Ayana said the department will add services and reduce expenses by $160,000 in fiscal year 2026 with a 10-year price fix.
“So in the middle of the night, if someone’s seen pulling on door handles, we have a drone available. We don’t have to go and drive a car to the emergency scene. We can have a drone on scene,” Ayana said.
AI technology will also be in place to help officers and non-English speakers communicate.
“Over the life of this contract, we’re going to save the city about $4.6 million. So we’re excited not just about the technology, but the savings, because we know our citizens work hard for the money. We want to make sure we put the city in a position to win,” Ayana said.