Columbia police seeking firearm ID technology

Columbia police are asking the city council to approve the purchase of firearm identification technology that would allow them to quickly access a national database of digital images of spent bullets and cartridge cases. The cost is $209,000 which would be paid from the department’s share of federal asset forfeiture funds. The department already uses the technology in a partnership with ATF, but has to send spent bullets out-of-state for analysis. With the new equipment on site, the turnaround time to get the ballistic info would be reduced from 2-3 weeks to less than 24 hours. The city council will consider the request at its Dec. 2 meeting.