Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation
Encyclopedia
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) is an investigative law enforcement agency for the U.S. state
of Ohio
. The department was founded on July 9, 1921. It began as a minor records keeping facility in conjunction with the Department of Public Welfare. A few years later, it was moved to the Department of Mental Hygiene and Corrections. The Department of Corrections originally housed BCI in the basement of the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio until a fire and subsequent threat of riot by inmates in 1930 forced a move to the London Prison Farm. During those early years, inmate labor performed most of the work. Interestingly, archives show these inmates reviewing, indexing and sorting fingerprint records. In the 1940s, BCI also had a printing press, and used inmate labor to produce the book entitled, "The Science of Fingerprint Classification: As Taught and Used in the Ohio State Bureau of Identification and Investigation." Criminal investigations on a very small scale were carried out by the laboratory division. In 1959, an 11350 square feet (1,054.4 m²) structure was erected in front of London Prison Farm. At the same time, the Investigations Division was formally added, investigative field agents were hired and the name was changed from Bureau of Criminal Identification to Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation. In 1963, BCI was taken over by the Attorney General's Office and was given a broader range of activities. In 1972, Attorney General William Brown reorganized BCI into five separate divisions: identification, laboratory, investigations, administration, and data systems. In 1998 under the tutelage of former Attorney General Betty Montgomery, a $20.3 million dollar, 122000 square feet (11,334.2 m²) facility was erected which allowed BCI to be more visible to the community and expands its assistance to law enforcement. Since 1999, the Bureau has grown to staff more than 300 employees within its four main divisions: laboratory, investigations, administration, and identification.
The Identification Division maintains the official record of all individuals convicted of felonies
in the state of Ohio. In addition, BCI operates the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which allows law enforcement to conduct criminal record checks in an expedited manner. There is also a system, called WebCheck, that allows some civilian agencies, such as schools and hospitals, to conduct criminal records checks over the World Wide Web.
Investigation Division
The Investigation Division provide assistance to local law enforcement agencies in Ohio with the investigation of criminal activity. The services of the Investigative Division include: Environmental Law Enforcement and Training, Narcotics Enforcement, and Major Crimes Investigation. The Major Crimes Investigation department includes Crime Scene units, Criminal Intelligence units, Polygraph units, Computer Crimes units, and Special Investigations units.
Crime Labs
The BCI operate three crime labs in Ohio. They are located in London, Bowling Green, and Richfield.
, BCI operates field offices in:
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The department was founded on July 9, 1921. It began as a minor records keeping facility in conjunction with the Department of Public Welfare. A few years later, it was moved to the Department of Mental Hygiene and Corrections. The Department of Corrections originally housed BCI in the basement of the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio until a fire and subsequent threat of riot by inmates in 1930 forced a move to the London Prison Farm. During those early years, inmate labor performed most of the work. Interestingly, archives show these inmates reviewing, indexing and sorting fingerprint records. In the 1940s, BCI also had a printing press, and used inmate labor to produce the book entitled, "The Science of Fingerprint Classification: As Taught and Used in the Ohio State Bureau of Identification and Investigation." Criminal investigations on a very small scale were carried out by the laboratory division. In 1959, an 11350 square feet (1,054.4 m²) structure was erected in front of London Prison Farm. At the same time, the Investigations Division was formally added, investigative field agents were hired and the name was changed from Bureau of Criminal Identification to Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation. In 1963, BCI was taken over by the Attorney General's Office and was given a broader range of activities. In 1972, Attorney General William Brown reorganized BCI into five separate divisions: identification, laboratory, investigations, administration, and data systems. In 1998 under the tutelage of former Attorney General Betty Montgomery, a $20.3 million dollar, 122000 square feet (11,334.2 m²) facility was erected which allowed BCI to be more visible to the community and expands its assistance to law enforcement. Since 1999, the Bureau has grown to staff more than 300 employees within its four main divisions: laboratory, investigations, administration, and identification.
Divisions
Identification DivisionThe Identification Division maintains the official record of all individuals convicted of felonies
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
in the state of Ohio. In addition, BCI operates the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which allows law enforcement to conduct criminal record checks in an expedited manner. There is also a system, called WebCheck, that allows some civilian agencies, such as schools and hospitals, to conduct criminal records checks over the World Wide Web.
Investigation Division
The Investigation Division provide assistance to local law enforcement agencies in Ohio with the investigation of criminal activity. The services of the Investigative Division include: Environmental Law Enforcement and Training, Narcotics Enforcement, and Major Crimes Investigation. The Major Crimes Investigation department includes Crime Scene units, Criminal Intelligence units, Polygraph units, Computer Crimes units, and Special Investigations units.
Crime Labs
The BCI operate three crime labs in Ohio. They are located in London, Bowling Green, and Richfield.
Locations
In addition to their headquarters in LondonLondon, Ohio
London is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Ohio, United States. Located about southwest of the Ohio capital of Columbus, London was established in 1811 to serve as the county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,771, an increase from 7,807 in 1990. It is the...
, BCI operates field offices in:
- YoungstownYoungstown, OhioYoungstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
- Bowling GreenBowling Green, OhioBowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...
- CambridgeCambridge, OhioAs of the census of 2000, there were 11,520 people, 4,924 households, and 2,954 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,055.1 people per square mile . There were 5,585 housing units of an average density of 996.3 per square mile...
- RichfieldRichfield, OhioRichfield is a village in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,286 at the 2000 census. The village and the adjacent Richfield Township are approximately equidistant between the downtown areas of Akron and Cleveland...