VIDEO: Mayor Curry addresses gun violence, crime-fighting steps

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry addressed techology designed to curb gun violence and future public safety priorities during an appearance on Jacksonville's Morning News Thursday.

VIDEO:  Mayor Curry and Rich Jones on News 104.5 WOKV

Curry highlighted an emergency request for $250,000 to fund a program called Integrated Ballistic Identification System, also known as IBIS.

The mayor says that program - which is tied to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) run by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms - utilizes a machine to process shell casings found at crime scenes.

"When a gun fires a bullet, the casings have an imprint on it much like a fingerprint," Curry noted. "This technology will allow our law enforcement to trace guns used in a crime to other crimes much more rapidly than what happens now, which will lead to getting bad guys off the street and prosecuted that much quicker."

Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams, and State Attorney Melissa Nelson are expected to visit Denver in April to see how the technology is being used and more.