Investigators in Clermont County now have on-site access to the nation's only ballistic evidence network after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) stationed a mobile crime lab at the sheriff's office in Batavia.

The Crime Gun Intelligence Mobile Command Center will serve as a base for gun crime intelligence operations across the county and surrounding communities, including Loveland and Milford, according to the Clermont County Sheriff's Office.

The vehicle gives local investigators direct access to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), the only national system that captures and compares ballistic evidence from shootings. Ballistic comparisons that once took months can now be completed within hours or days, according to the Clermont Guardian.

The command center holds four rooms and six workstations, with capacity for up to 16 people. One room houses two BrassTrax imaging units, a MatchPoint analysis station, an examiner workstation and a conference table. The workspace is also used for fingerprinting and DNA swabbing of firearms before evidence enters the NIBIN system. A separate test-fire room, lined with ballistic and soundproof material, lets investigators fire weapons to collect ballistic samples.

Criminalist Joe Ruchti, who works in the sheriff's crime lab, will spend the coming months inside the command van running ballistic and firearms investigations. WCPO first reported Ruchti's comments from an on-site visit Thursday, Sept. 17.

"The better picture you have of the crime data and the instruments used in those crimes, the sooner you're going to solve the crime and the more effective the prosecution is going to be," Ruchti told WCPO.

The deployment extends the reach of the sheriff's S.A.F.E. Unit, short for Surveillance, Analysis and Forensic Evidence. Established in the sheriff's crime lab in November 2025, the unit has focused on digital evidence collection, cellphone forensics and intelligence sharing. The ATF partnership marks the first time the unit has expanded into ballistics and broader crime-analysis statistics, the Clermont Guardian reported.

Sheriff Chris Stratton said in a Sept. 17 press release that the partnership strengthens the office's ability to investigate crime and shorten investigative timelines. ATF Special Agent in Charge Jorge A. Rosendo said developing a comprehensive crime gun intelligence program with local law enforcement partners is one of ATF's highest priorities.

No specific end date for the deployment has been announced. Ruchti indicated to WCPO he expects to work in the unit for several months.