On the Job 

The Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) will mark its 95^th anniversary in September. Here is a look at some of its milestones.

Sept. 6, 1921
The Bureau of Criminal Identification begins operating within the Department of Public Welfare to provide identification services to law enforcement throughout the state.

1949
BCI conducts its first polygraph exam.

1959
BCI becomes the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to reflect its new Investigations Division.

1963
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office assumes oversight of BCI.

1972
BCI begins computerizing criminal histories.

Early 1980s
BCI launches its marijuana-eradication efforts.

1994
Ohio establishes an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), enabling the computerization of criminal fingerprint cards.

1998
BCI provides DNA analysis for the first time, meaning DNA evidence can be presented in criminal prosecutions.

The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies accredits BCI.

1999
BCI’s current headquarters opens in London. The $20.3 million, state-of-the-art facility is three times the size of the former accommodations.

2001
Ohio connects to the National Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) network. The state has its first CODIS hit when DNA from a Warren County rape case is entered into the database and it matches that of an offender earlier convicted of aggravated burglary.

2002
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board accredits BCI’s Laboratory Division.

2011
A template is created and baselines are developed to track BCI laboratory turnaround times.

BCI’s Clandestine Drug Lab/Cannabis Suppression Unit seizes 350 methamphetamine labs.

Senate Bill 77 is enacted requiring the collection of DNA from felony arrestees.

BCI establishes an Athens office to enhance polygraph and evidence-intake services.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine launches the Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Testing Initiative after learning that dozens of law enforcement agencies throughout the state were in possession of rape kits that had never been sent to a DNA lab for testing. 

The Crimes Against Children Initiative is launched to target sex offenders who prey on children, and its Crimes Against Children Unit is set up at BCI to provide modern resources and a rapid response team to help law enforcement.

2012
After months of training, the Forensic Dive Team is established with eight team members.

Cutting-edge technology, including a smartphone app, is made available to better track sex offenders through a partnership among BCI’s Crimes Against Children Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement.

2013
After a two-year effort to improve lab processes, turnaround times are reduced 84 percent for DNA evidence, while submissions are up 34 percent.

Ohio’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is expanded to include 600,000 palm prints.
Attorney General DeWine creates a Heroin Unit to go after opiate traffickers.

2014
BCI opens a 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art lab and investigations facility on the campus of Bowling Green State University (BGSU).
 
The Ohio Attorney General’s Center for the Future of Forensic Science — a resource for the professional development of forensic science practitioners and students interested in forensic science — is established at BGSU.

2015
Senate Bill 316 requires Ohio law enforcement agencies to submit any untested or new sexual assault kits to a crime lab for analysis.

2016
BCI forensic scientists test their 10,000^th rape kit for DNA as part of the Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Testing Initiative.

BCI enters a partnership with Battelle to use Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to enhance BCI’s DNA-testing capabilities to solve missing persons cases.