Police Joining Forces to Fight Gang Crime in The Yakima Valley

The Yakima Police Department will soon be meeting with officers up and down the valley and federal officials to begin sharing information to help the agencies fight gang crime. In fact Capt. Jay Seely says they've set the meeting for March 31 with all law enforcement agencies in the Yakima Valley.

Yakima Police say the meeting will formalize the sharing of information

He says the meeting will be held to discuss the "National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) information police gleaned from the gathering and processing of shell cartridges at shootings."
He says officers know gang members and their firearms move throughout the valley and they want to coordinate local information gathering/sharing with ALL of law enforcement partners. Seely says some of that sharing of information is already happening but the meeting will formalize the process.

A chance for smaller departments in the valley to share valuable information

He says it's a chance for smaller departments in the lower valley to share valuable information that could help larger departments in the upper valley. Seely says it's common knowledge that many gang members in the valley commit violent assaults in Yakima then flee to the lower valley.
It's something similar to what the Yakima Valley Conference of Government or YVCOG is proposing through a regional crime center. Part of the criticism of the proposal from the Yakima Police Department is that some of the things planned in the regional center are already happening in the Yakima Valley like the sharing of information to fight crime.