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Georgia Crime Information Center
The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) was established in 1973 as a central, statewide repository for criminal history records for all local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.
Criminal Justice Information System
GCIC provides law enforcement with instant round-the-clock access to needed information through the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). The system is a computerized network that allows law enforcement to search databases maintained by criminal justice agencies in Georgia, the FBI's National Crime Information Center, and other national and international sources. The network handles millions of inquiries each month and contains information on warrants, restraining orders, stolen property, and criminal history records.
In order to maintain the integrity of the network, GCIC offers training statewide to terminal operators and conducts audits of each agency that utilizes the system.
Automated Fingerprint Identification System
GCIC was the first state criminal repository in the nation with a fully integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The system makes fingerprint identifications and then updates criminal history records as a result of the identification process.
The majority of criminal fingerprint cards are submitted to GCIC electronically. Within minutes, an arrestee's criminal record is created or updated, and the booking agency has the information it needs. Live scan devices are making it easier to submit fingerprint images to GCIC. The latest in ink-free technology continues to be implemented across the state.
AFIS is a powerful investigative tool. Each year hundreds of cases are solved as a result of matches made between latent fingerprints left at crime scenes and prints stored in the AFIS database. Traditionally, Georgia ranks among the top states in the nation in the number of criminal fingerprint records processed yearly.
Sexually Violent Offender Registry
The Sexually Violent Offender Registry was launched on the Internet in 1998 and quickly became one of the state's most visited Web sites. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Internet users search the registry, educating themselves on convicted offenders who may be living in their neighborhoods. The names of absconders, those offenders who fail to register, also are listed on the site. The GBI welcomes the public's help in locating these absconders.
Uniform Crime Reporting Unit
GCIC oversees the collection of Georgia's crime statistics through the Uniform Crime Reporting Unit. The statistics are posted on the GBI Web site for direct access by the public.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation P.O. Box 370808
Decatur, Georgia 30037-0808
For more information about the GBI and services the agency provides, visit www.ganet.org/gbi
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Committed to law enforcement excellence since 1937
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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is a statewide law enforcement agency that provides support and assistance to Georgia's criminal justice community. The GBI consists of an Investigative Division, the Division of Forensic Sciences, and the Georgia Crime Information Center. An Administrative Section provides various support services to the three divisions.
Investigative Division
The Investigative Division assists local law enforcement agencies at their request. The division is the largest branch of the GBI, with employees assigned to more than 30 work units.
Regional Investigative Offices
The Investigative Division has 15 regional investigative offices strategically located across the state. Special agents assigned to these offices assist local law enforcement agencies in the investigation of major crimes, such as homicide, rape, child abuse, armed robbery, fraud, and public corruption. Special agents are highly skilled in all aspects of conducting criminal investigations. They interview victims and witnesses, interrogate suspects, execute search warrants, make arrests, and provide expert testimony in court. Each regional office also has a crime scene specialist who assists with the collection of evidence.
Drug Enforcement Offices & Task Forces
Tackling Georgia's illegal drug trade is the job of the GBI's regional drug enforcement offices and multi-jurisdictional task forces. Through undercover investigations, narcotics agents infiltrate major and street-level drug markets statewide.
The division has three regional drug enforcement offices located in Canton, Macon, and Savannah, which are supported by the State Drug Task Force and multi-jurisdictional task forces located throughout Georgia. Task forces are supervised by GBI personnel and staffed by other state and local agencies. However, the State Drug Task Force consists solely of GBI agents and support staff.
In response to Georgia's growing methamphetamine trade, the Investigative Division has joined forces with the Division of Forensic Sciences to create the Clandestine Laboratory Response Team (CLRT). The team, consisting of both special agents and chemists, assists drug enforcement in safely securing meth labs and seizing chemical evidence.
Specialized Work Units
State Health Care Fraud Control Unit: Staffed by the GBI, the Georgia Department of Law and the State Department of Audits, the unit investigates and prosecutes health care fraud and elder abuse cases. Financial Investigations Unit: Tracks and seizes illegally gained assets, analyzes financial reports, and monitors cash transactions involved in criminal activity. The unit also performs computer forensics, a procedure that involves extracting and analyzing computer evidence in a manner that does not affect the data's integrity. Crime Analysis Unit: Supports the criminal justice community in gathering evidence and prepares criminal profiles of suspects, aiding investigators in developing leads in unsolved cases. Bomb Disposal Unit: Renders explosives safe using the latest in robotic technology. Polygraph Unit: Administers both preemployment and criminal polygraph examinations.
Training Unit: Ensures special agents are well trained and prepared to conduct successful criminal investigations. Intelligence Unit: Provides analytical support to law enforcement statewide. The unit also has a forensic artist who draws suspect sketches and sculpts clay facial reconstructions of unidentified persons based on the dimensions of skulls.
Levi's Call: Georgia's Amber Alert
Levi's Call: Georgia's Amber Alert is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement, emergency management, and broadcasters to issue urgent bulletins in aggravated child abduction cases. The program utilizes the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to solicit the public's help in quickly locating a child. The alert is an investigative tool that can be activated only by local law enforcement agencies through a request to the GBI.
Division of Forensic Sciences
Established in 1952, Georgia's modern-day Division of Forensic Sciences (DOFS) consists of a Headquarters' facility and seven regional laboratories across the state. DOFS was the first crime laboratory system in the country to receive both national and international accreditation. Scientists and technicians use the latest in forensic technology and sophisticated instrumentation to analyze and interpret physical evidence. They also provide expert testimony in court.
Chemistry/Drug Identification: Analyzes and identifies suspected narcotics and other controlled substances. The section also performs testing on evidence collected from suspected arson cases.
Firearms & Tool Marks: Compares bullets and shell casings to weapons from which they were fired. The section also oversees the National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network (NIBIN) for Georgia. The database allows bullets and casings to be searched against like evidence collected from crime scenes. Examiners also perform comparisons of marks and impressions made by various tools used in the commission of crimes. Implied Consent: Administers the state's breath alcohol program. Latent Fingerprints: Compares and identifies latent fingerprints taken from physical evidence found at crime scenes. Forensic Biology/DNA: Detects, identifies, and individualizes biological fluids. The section also maintains the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a computerized database that stores DNA profiles of Georgia's incarcerated felons and evidence from crimes. The samples are then cross-checked, matching offenders to cases or linking cases to each other. Medical Examiner's Office: Performs autopsies for 150 of Georgia's 159 counties. The Child Abuse Investigative Support Center also is a part of the Medical Examiner's Office. The center aids investigators and child welfare workers in determining whether child-related injuries are caused by abuse. Photography: Photographs and processes prints for the Investigative Division and DOFS work units.
Questioned Documents: Performs side-by-side comparisons of handwriting to determine authorship and analyzes documents in forgery cases.
Toxicology: Isolates and identifies drugs and poisons in human tissues.