Ballistics lab sets Calgary police force apart

Police officers in Calgary are seeing the benefits of having access to the most advanced ballistics lab among Canadian cities.

The Calgary Police Services Integrated Ballistics Identification System matches bullets and casings to other crimes using a national database.

Forensic scientist Darryl Barr said the facility is an important timesaver for detectives who might otherwise need to send evidence to RCMP labs.

"When we're able to tell the investigators the specific types of firearms that were responsible for a shooting and they have suspects in mind already, that information helps investigators obtain a search warrant for example," he said.

"Giving that to them within the first few days of a shooting incident as opposed to six months down the road, aids in their investigation incredibly."

Staff Sgt. Brian Rayner, who is in charge of the criminal identification unit, said the lab not only saves time and money, but potentially lives.

"If we can get information about somebody who's out there shooting within a couple of hours to an investigator whereas in the past it may have taken weeks or months that we can hopefully get this person off the street."

A provincial grant paid for the laboratory, which has been operating for about two years.

By July it will also be equipped with a firearms testing range.