LR board favors ballistic system

In-house police testing planned

The Little Rock Police Department is one step closer to becoming the first law enforcement agency in the state to have an in-house system to test ballistic evidence.

During Tuesday’s regular meeting, the Little Rock Board of Directors authorized a sole-source contract with Ultra Electronic/Forensic Technology, the only vendor that makes the system.

The ballistics testing system records evidence used in violent crimes with the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a national registry of data, to possibly connect the weapon to other crimes, creating a lead for detectives.

Currently, Little Rock police use a machine at the state Crime Laboratory to test evidence, but they are limited by the lab’s weekday business hours. Having a machine in house would allow the department and partnering agencies access to the database 24/7.

The cost of the system is $294,268.39, according to city board documents, and is covered by a federal grant.

Steve Woodall, the Little Rock Police Department sergeant over the Gun Crimes Intelligence Unit, said he hopes the system will be up and running at the department by the fall, though the process could be slowed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The department has discussed getting a ballistics testing machine for at least two years, Woodall said. The agency had to get permission from the federal Bureau on Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to acquire the system.

Now, the Little Rock department wants to connect with other law enforcement agencies in the Central Arkansas area to make the system a regional asset. The department is determining how that will work.

“We have a lot of partners that we want to bring to the table,” Woodall said. “What we’re looking to do now is reach out to the local jurisdictions and bring them on board.”

Woodall said the Little Rock Police Department has had success using the database at the state Crime Lab.

“We know it works,” Woodall said. “We have got a lot of information that we’ve passed to our detectives, made good arrests, arrested shooters by the work that we’ve done.

“Every year that we do this we get better at it, we become more proficient, get more information and more leads to pass to our detectives.”

He added that the inhouse system could serve as a backup for agencies across the state if the machine at the state Crime Lab goes down. The next-closest machine is in Memphis.