GBI 2000 Annual Report http://www.ganet.org/gbi/00annual/00ar_intro.html Annual Report Introduction Investigative Division Georgia Crime Information Center Division of Forensic Sciences Administration GBI Home FISCAL YEAR 2000 Milton E. Nix, Jr. Director Vernon M. Keenan Assistant Director Moses Ector Deputy Assistant Director Roy Harris Deputy Director for Investigations Paul Hepner Deputy Director for GCIC Terry Mills, III Deputy Director for the Division of Forensic Sciences D A IRECTOR'S CKNOWLEDGEMENTS Governor Roy Barnes Members of the Georgia General Assembly Board of Public Safety Citizens of Georgia It is with great pride that I submit to you the 2000 Annual Report for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The information provided in this report represents the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000. The GBI began the new millennium on a successful note, reaching many of the goals we had set for our agency. Most notable was the substantial reduction in case backlogs, which in recent years, had plagued the Division of Forensic Sciences (DOFS). In FY'00, the crime lab reduced its backlog by more than 30,000 cases, leaving less than 6,000 cases to be worked. This accomplishment was made possible due in great part to funding of 83 new positions within DOFS by the Governor and Georgia General Assembly in 1999. In FY'00, all of the new employees entered the workforce and focused their attentions on backlogged cases. 1 of 2 1/31/02 1:18 PM GBI 2000 Annual Report http://www.ganet.org/gbi/00annual/00ar_intro.html The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) also made great strides in FY'00. I am pleased to report that GCIC made the transition to the Year 2000 (Y2K) without interruption of services to Georgia's criminal justice community. Precision planning ensured that all GBI computer systems were prepared for the rollover. Also, throughout the year, the number of agencies electronically submitting criminal fingerprints and data to GCIC grew to 35 agencies. Now, about 60 percent of the criminal fingerprints that are submitted to GCIC are transmitted electronically through live scan technology. The technology has dramatically reduced the time it takes to update and create criminal history records and verify identifications based on fingerprints. Within 30 minutes, the booking agencies have received a response from GCIC. On the investigative front, GBI special agents continued to provide quality investigative assistance to law enforcement statewide. During FY'00, the Investigative Division expended more than 346,000 hours conducting criminal investigations at the request of other state and local agencies. The majority of those cases involved crimes against persons, with an increasing emphasis on child abuse. Child abuse specialists assigned to each regional office worked a total of 359 violent crimes against children during the year. Because of the increasing number of cases, the GBI Medical Examiners' Office is expected to launch a new program in the fall of 2000, aiding investigators in the evaluation of child injuries and wounds. As always, the GBI will continue to do its part to provide public safety with quality services, benefiting all citizens of Georgia. On behalf of the GBI and its employees, thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Milton E. Nix, Jr. Director <