Technical Investigations

This unit offers multiple services involving specialized technical skills. Among other things, unit members:

• Provide direct field support for law enforcement agencies through the installation and use of technology such as body wires and other audio and video recording devices, wiretaps and GPS tracking devices. Operations can be covert or overt.
• Train state and local law enforcement in the use and deployment of surveillance equipment.
• Facilitate remote child victim testimony and depositions.

In today’s law enforcement environment, robust Internal Affairs and background investigation programs are more important than ever. This unit:

• Approves potential BCI hires.
• Ensures that all complaints regarding employee misconduct are heard and dealt with quickly and effectively via investigations, per CALEA Accreditation Standard 52.1.1.

This unit conducts high-quality polygraph examinations of both suspects and witnesses for local law enforcement and prosecutors throughout Ohio. The unit also provides expert testimony in criminal cases when jointly requested by the prosecution and defense.

The testing employs computerized polygraph instruments to monitor a person’s physiological responses to questions and help determine truthfulness. The unit emphasizes consistent, thorough and objective analysis.

This unit provides expert forensic accounting services to Ohio law enforcement agencies and other BCI units in support of criminal investigations and prosecutions. Forensic accounting is, essentially, following the numbers to see where money has been spent or brought in — or where it went missing. Such analysis is essential in many criminal cases, including public corruption investigations.

The Forensic Accounting Unit:

• Provides expert services that meet the highest standards in order to give victims and suspects a fair and impartial accounting of estimated losses.
• Continually increases its technical expertise through training and participation in professional organizations and continually incorporates new techniques, knowledge and tools into practices and procedures.
• Shares its knowledge with law enforcement agencies to both develop their financial investigation capabilities and advertise the unit’s availability to assist as subject-matter experts.

For more information, read this palm card.

The Cyber Crime Unit helps local officials deal with the increasingly complex technical and legal issues involved in investigating and prosecuting criminal cases that have a digital component — as virtually all do these days.

A majority of the unit’s investigations involve violent crimes, such as murder and sexual assault, and more than half involve children. Cases also commonly involve fraud and theft.

At the outset of a case, involvement of the unit’s special agents and computer forensic specialists can help ensure efficient seizure, proper submission, thorough forensic analysis and the preservation of volatile information that, if not captured quickly and correctly, can easily be lost.

Specialized services:

• Forensic analysis of cellphones, computers, external drives, memory cards, cameras, gaming systems, etc.
• Search warrant preparation, crime scene response and on-site previewing of evidence
• Expert testimony and interpretation of forensic evidence

For more information, including how to submit evidence, read this information sheet.

The Criminal Intelligence Unit serves as a force multiplier, using powerful tools and analysis to expose criminal activity throughout the state and predict patterns — work that makes solving major crimes more likely. Analysts in the unit:

Specialized services:

• Provide analysis of digital forensics, cellphone records, geolocational resources, social media posts, genetic family links, etc.
• Create case timelines, databases of evidence and people relevant to a case, and visual aids such as crime scene maps and facial reconstructions.
• Operate the Ohio Missing Persons database and Project LINK to help locate missing persons.
• Operate the Ohio Unsolved Homicides database and the Unidentified Remains database.
• Help draw media attention to cases to generate new tips and information.

The Crime Scene Unit helps local law enforcement process felony crime scenes for physical evidence and provides experts to testify in court. BCI’s crime scene agents are among the most highly trained and best equipped in the nation and can contribute the latest crime scene processing techniques and forensic equipment to local investigations, ensuring the best opportunity for identifying and prosecuting criminals.

The Crime Scene Unit can respond 24/7 to homicides, questioned deaths, officer-involved shootings, major burglaries, explosions and other felonies requiring specialized evidence recovery. For example, in 2019, the team responded to scenes of 107 homicides, 67 questioned deaths, 25 sexual assaults and 26 officer-involved critical incidents.

Specialized capabilities:

• Bloodstain pattern analysis
• Shooting incident reconstruction
• Crime scene documentation using Total Station/Faro 3D scanner
• Searches for latent bloodstains
• Clandestine gravesites
• Training

The Forensic Dive Team, an extension of the Crime Scene Unit, is available to help local agencies recover criminal evidence underwater. The team has expertise and equipment to locate human remains, weapons, tools and other items. BCI and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency partner on dive team operations, enhancing both entities’ work in documenting environmental crimes.

To request 24-hour assistance, call the BCI hotline at 855-BCI-OHIO (855-224-6446).

The Environmental Unit works with local, state and federal agencies to protect Ohioans and their health by investigating crimes that taint our air, water and soil. The unit, made up of specially trained agents, works cases involving hazardous, solid and infectious wastes as well as other pollution. The unit also routinely partners with the Ohio and U.S. Environmental Protection agencies.

For 24-hour emergency response, complaints or assistance with illegal environmental activity, call the Ohio EPA hotline at 800-282-9378.