Winnipeg police to expand gun analysis provincewide

Winnipeg police say they’ve teamed up with RCMP to expand their gun analysis capabilities provincewide.

Police said Friday that the Firearms Investigative Analysis Section (FIAS) will now conduct searches into bullets and cartridge casings to help speed up gun-related investigations.

Winnipeg firearms officers currently have access to a national database — the Canadian Integrated Ballistic Identification Network (CIBIN) — to help compare gun-related evidence against unsolved crimes across Canada. According to police, the database has led to more than 200 investigative leads over the past five years.

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Police said the eventual goal is to expand FIAS into a full provincial gun lab, provide forensic information to investigators, and help crack down on gun crime.

The FIAS expansion, police said, is thanks to capital and annual operating dollars from the province.

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