(BOWLING GREEN, Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that construction on Bowling Green's new Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) laboratory is expected to begin this summer.
Attorney General DeWine announced plans for the new facility last year, and the location for the new laboratory was finalized last month.
"From the start we knew we wanted to build on the campus of Bowling Green State University," said Attorney General DeWine. "Through a partnership with the school we can work together to advance forensic sciences in Ohio while helping to prepare the state's next generation of scientists and investigators."
The facility will be located at the corner of North College Drive and Leroy Avenue, near Bowling Green State University's (BGSU) science buildings. Construction could be complete by fall 2014.
BGSU will be one of a small number of colleges nationally with an on-campus crime lab, and BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey said the University is just beginning to explore ways it can collaborate with the new lab.
"Having the crime lab on campus creates new opportunities for academic programming and research," Mazey said. "The partnership will help build upon our strengths in the sciences and criminal justice."
The expanded BCI location will replace the current regional office on East Wooster Street. The new building will allow BCI to continue providing vital laboratory and investigative services for local law enforcement in the northwest Ohio region.
Services at both the current and new facility include:
BCI On-Site Laboratory Services
- Chemistry
- Criminal Polygraph Examination
- Evidence Receiving Location
- Firearms/Ballistics/Toolmark Examination
- Forensic Biology
- Latent Fingerprint
- Trace Analysis
BCI On-Site Investigative Services
- Crime Scene Unit
- Crimes Against Children Unit
- Criminal Intelligence Unit
- Narcotics Unit
- Special Investigation Unit
The SSOE Group has been selected as the project architect, and Quandel Construction Group will build the laboratory.
The project is being funded by $11.9 million allocated to the Attorney General's Office through the Capital Budget.
Starting next fall, BGSU will offer forensics as an undergraduate specialization through the departments of criminal justice, chemistry and biology, helping prepare students for careers in public safety and the growing field of forensic sciences.
-30-
Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840