Arlington police have launched a pilot team aiming to curb gun violence and solve crimes across North Texas.
NIBIN Engagement Team (“NET”) consists of a nine-person group and builds off the existing federal database National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN.) For years, the national database NIBIN has been used by local law enforcement agencies to help trace ballistics evidence recovered from crime scenes.
NET goes one step further, according to authorities. The group, which first launched in July, uses the database to focus entirely on connecting possible dots between cases and events.
It does not get assigned cases, according to Arlington Deputy Police Chief Kyle Dishko.
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“They provide data on multiple shooting locations where people have been at multiple shootings. That’s really an important event for us, as to determine who’s at all these crime scenes?” Deputy Chief Dishko said.
Arlington Police Chief Al Jones pointed to the rise in violent crime as the reason why resources are being invested into this program.
“Arlington, like other cities, continues to experience an increase in gun violence,” Chief Jones said Wednesday. “Although the crime in Arlington citywide is down, so is our homicides…as of September, but our overall violence is up 9%.”
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Danielle Hunt lost her older brother to gun violence. Donald Hunt, 40, died on August 26 after police say the brother of his girlfriend shot him.
“He’s known as 'Uncle D' and the kids on the block know his Uncle D. He comes home, he always shows his presence. He gave love. That’s not going to be given any more,” Danielle Hunt said. “It wasn’t that Donald died. It was that his life was taken from him. When somebody’s life is taken from you, it hits differently.”
The suspect has been identified as 32-year-old Darius Brown. The two men got into an argument about Brown’s sister which then escalated into the shooting, according to police.
According to the arrest affidavit provided by Arlington police, a witness told police they heard Hunt and his girlfriend “arguing all day.” The witness also told investigators, Brown was heard saying “I told you, you’re not going to keep putting your hands on my sister."
Brown has since been charged with murder. A call to his attorney Barry Alford for a comment Wednesday was not immediately returned.
“I’m the person, I believe in walking away. Proper people [get] involved. Go from there. That’s always been my logo," Hunt added. "We know that justice hopefully will prevail through the eyes of God, but it hurts because we don’t have him anymore. We don’t have that male figure, that role model."
Regarding the new initiative by Arlington police, Hunt said she was supportive of any efforts to curb gun violence.
The program will run through January, at which time police will assess whether it remains permanent.