Reno Police have a Crime Gun Intelligence Center where they can pull different types of evidence to work on solving a crime.
The center played a part in an arrest related to a crime that happened in September of this year. The suspect was apprehended 30 days later thanks to all these elements coming together
Reno Police Chief Corey Solferino said, "Detectives compared that surveillance footage with officers’ body-worn camera footage and identified the matching clothing and footwear, further confirming the suspect's identity. That's where eyewitness testimony, technology, and investigations all come together to give us the opportunity to solve a crime later down the road."
Officers said eyewitness testimony can sometimes be hard to rely on, because victims are often subject to trauma.
This can lead them to mishear something or have tunnel vision and overlook details.
Having surveillance cameras on location helps the investigation process, especially when a business has full access to them.
Chief Solferino said, "So by being able to get that eyewitness testimony based on what happened, having a great convenience store owner that had access to video readily. A lot of times, I know what'll happen is it's offsite, or it's managed by a third-party company. They don't have immediate access to it. We have to submit a request."
Officers tell us in some cases they are able to fly a drone through a crime scene before officers even get on scene to start gathering evidence.
“We currently have four drones deployed throughout the greater metropolitan area. With that, we did it based on working with our vendor and our crime analyst to identify where a crime is occurring. The urban area is much different than the rural area, so we have the opportunity to be on scene, like I said, about 68% of the time."
