Georgia Bureau of Investigation
State law enforcement agency in U.S.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is the state bureau of investigation of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is an independent, statewide agency that provides assistance to Georgia's criminal justice system in the areas of criminal investigations, forensic laboratory services, and computerized criminal justice information. Its headquarters is located in unincorporated DeKalb County, near Decatur and in Greater Atlanta.[5]
Law and Order
| Georgia Bureau of Investigation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | GBI |
| Motto | Lex Et Ordo Law and Order |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1937 |
| Employees | 1,015 (as of 2022) |
| Annual budget | $337,855,257 (FY'23) [1] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Georgia, United States |
| Size | 59,425 square miles (153,910 km2) |
| Population | 10,711,908 (2020)[2] |
| Legal jurisdiction | Statewide |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Georgia Board of Public Safety [3] |
| Headquarters | DeKalb County 33.6925297°N 84.2734381°W |
| Special Agents | 305 (as of 2022)[4] |
| Civilians | 710 (as of 2022)[4] |
| Agency executives |
|
| Parent agency | Georgia Department of Public Safety |
| Website | |
| gbi | |
Organization
The agency is divided into several parts:
- Division of Forensic Sciences (DOFS) - Established in 1952 and furnishes scientific support to the Criminal Justice System of Georgia.
- Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) - Established in 1973 providing round-the-clock access to needed information.
- Investigative Division - Headed by the deputy director for Investigations with 400 employees, working in Regional Offices, Regional Drug Enforcement Offices and other work units that provide specialized services in criminal investigations. Special agents from the Investigative Division respond to requests for assistance from local law enforcement officials to investigate major crimes such as: homicide, rape, child abuse, armed robbery, fraud and other felonies. Drug investigations can be initiated without request.
- Medical Examiner's Office - Provides forensic pathology services to 153 of 159 Georgia counties in deaths which qualify as coroner cases under the Georgia Death Investigation Act. The Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Georgia oversees the GBI's medical examiner (M.E.) program and also establishes policies and guidelines for all Georgia coroners and local medical examiners.
- Crisis Intervention Team - Assists with people that are in mental health crises.
Staff Services is responsible for administrating headquarters' security personnel and maintenance contracts and managing telecommunications, risk, and security. Its Fleet and Asset Section manages the GBI's fleet of more than 500 vehicles and GBI assets totally nearly 5,000 items valued in excess of $100 million.[6]
Services the GBI is responsible for: Bingo Regulation, Crime Statistics, GBI Crime Statistics Database, GAPS - Georgia Applicant Processing Service, Georgia Criminal History Record Expungements, Georgia Sex Offender Registry, Law Enforcement Liaison and Links, Non-Criminal Justice Agencies, Obtaining Criminal History Record Information, Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) Georgia, and Criminal Investigations involving law enforcement.
History
Governor Eurith D. Rivers was instrumental in the creation of the department in March 1937, when a law was passed Act 220 creating the Georgia Department of Public Safety which included the Georgia State Patrol and a plainclothes investigative division called the Division of Identification, Detection, Prevention and Investigation which became the GBI in 1940.[7] Any crime committed on state property or on state highways came under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was also authorized to assist in criminal investigations when requested to do so by local law enforcement officials or agencies.
In 1972, then Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter proposed extensive changes in the structure of the executive branch of state government that led to the introduction of the Executive Reorganization Act. As a result of passage of this Act and later amendments, on February 28, 1974, the GBI was made an independent agency separate from the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
Controversy
In August 2017, the GBI arrested a Poulan Police Officer, Rosemary Jones,[8] for multiple felony crimes against children and forcible felonies upon a person.[9][10][11][12] No prosecution occurred, and Jones remained employed at the Poulan Police and is now a Major at the Poulan Police Department.[13]
From 2022 to 2025, individuals at the GBI became involved with other openly corrupt police officials involved in the Poulan Police Scandal. A GA POST Investigator[14] documented GBI employees admitting to assisting Larry Whisenant with a cover up of his theft of cocaine and other items from an evidence locker.[15] Whisenant admitted to a GA POST Investigator of his multiple interceptions of both the original stolen substance and that he had taken and swapped the substance.[16]
In popular culture
- In 2019, the GBI was featured in the Netflix crime drama/psychological thriller series Mindhunter during its second season, which heavily focused on the Atlanta child murders of 1979–1981.
- The television show Will Trent, based on Karin Slaughter's bestselling book series, follows Special Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.[17]
