(ATHENS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General DeWine officially opened BCI’s new Athens office today. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) Athens office will serve Southeastern Ohio counties with evidence intake, polygraphs, and other law enforcement services.
“As Attorney General, I made a commitment to make BCI the premier crime lab in the country for the protection of all Ohioans. The BCI Athens office, with its full-time presence in Southeast Ohio, brings BCI closer to that goal,” said Attorney General DeWine.
The BCI Athens office will make it easier for area law enforcement to submit evidence to BCI. In 2010, law enforcement agencies in southeastern Ohio counties submitted 1,180 cases to the BCI London laboratory for examination. In Athens County alone, the Sheriff’s Office submitted 99 cases and the Athens Police Department submitted 51 cases.
The BCI Athens office will also offer full-time polygraph services for law enforcement to utilize. The office also contains witness and suspect interview facilities and office space will also be utilized by BCI special agents.
The BCI Athens office joins the BCI main office in London; the other regional offices in Bowling Green, Richfield, and Youngstown; and the part-time evidence intake facility in Cambridge. The addition of the Athens office also means that BCI will have accessible, full-time evidence intake facilities in all four corners of the state.
“In law enforcement, time is of the essence in getting criminals off the street. Having full-time evidence intake facilities accessible in all areas of Ohio means that law enforcement can utilize evidence to identify suspects more quickly,” Attorney General DeWine said.
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