In a report published by the Police Foundation and Major Cities Chiefs Association in January 2017, major city and county law enforcement executives stated that of all of the tools and resources available to them in preventing and reducing violent crime, specifically gun violence, ballistic imaging tools were the most helpful, followed by gun tracing tools.
To create the best possible conditions for a successful prosecution in a case involving crime guns and ballistic evidence, it is imperative that there is a strong partnership between the investigators, forensic experts, and prosecutors. In this final installment of the Justice Clearinghouse's six-part crime gun intelligence webinar series in 2017, prosecutors from two different jurisdictions will describe how they utilize specific intelligence to build prosecutions, give examples of cases, and discuss how they have set out to change the mind-set of prosecuting the “regular old shootings.” The presenters will also discuss:
- Why it is critical that communication between prosecutors, investigators, and forensic experts begins at the outset of a case;
- The importance of establishing formal policies and processes to ensure the timely analysis of evidence; and
- How to work collaboratively to triage cases and how to identify the most violent offenders.
Presenters:
Brian Gray has been an assistant district attorney for the Schenectady County, New York District Attorney’s Office in Schenectady, New York since 2010. In 2012, he joined the Special Victim’s Unit, where he prosecuted crimes perpetrated against children and crimes of sexual assault. In 2015, he moved to the Major Crimes Bureau, where he prosecutes homicides, attempted murders, and other crimes involving illegal firearms. He has received guilty verdicts in numerous felony-level trials, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, and rape. Mr. Gray earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York in 2006. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Albany Law School in 2009, with a concentration on criminal law.
Will Morris is a 2003 graduate of Louisiana State University Law School. After a clerkship with a state criminal court judge, Mr. Morris joined the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Office in 2005. He has served as a misdemeanor assistant, felony assistant, Section Chief of a trial section, Section Chief of the Violent Crime Unit, and, as of September 2015, is Section Chief of the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit. Mr. Morris supervises the unit, which consists of two assistant district attorneys (including himself), an assistant U.S. attorney, three investigators, two National Guard counter-drug intelligence analysts, and eight interns from the Sociology Department at Louisiana State University. The District Attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit is a multiagency unit whose mission is to improve public safety through data and intelligence-driven prosecutions and crime intervention efforts.