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FISCAL YEAR
2000
DIRECTOR'S
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Governor Roy Barnes
Members of the Georgia General Assembly
Board of Public Safety
Citizens of Georgia
It is with great
pride that I submit to you the 2000 Annual Report for the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation (GBI). The information provided in this
report represents the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000.
The GBI began
the new millennium on a successful note, reaching many of the goals
we had set for our agency. Most notable was the substantial reduction
in case backlogs, which in recent years, had plagued the Division
of Forensic Sciences (DOFS). In FY'00, the crime lab reduced its
backlog by more than 30,000 cases, leaving less than 6,000 cases
to be worked. This accomplishment was made possible due in great
part to funding of 83 new positions within DOFS by the Governor
and Georgia General Assembly in 1999. In FY'00, all of the new
employees entered the workforce and focused their attentions on
backlogged cases.
The Georgia Crime Information
Center (GCIC) also made great strides in FY'00. I am pleased to
report that GCIC made the transition to the Year 2000 (Y2K) without
interruption of services to Georgia’s criminal justice community.
Precision planning ensured that all GBI computer systems were prepared
for the rollover. Also, throughout the year, the number of agencies
electronically submitting criminal fingerprints and data to GCIC
grew to 35 agencies. Now, about 60 percent of the criminal fingerprints
that are submitted to GCIC are transmitted electronically through
live scan technology. The technology has dramatically reduced the
time it takes to update and create criminal history records and
verify identifications based on fingerprints. Within 30 minutes,
the booking agencies have received a response from GCIC.
On the investigative front,
GBI special agents continued to provide quality investigative assistance
to law enforcement statewide. During FY'00, the Investigative Division
expended more than 346,000 hours conducting criminal investigations
at the request of other state and local agencies. The majority
of those cases involved crimes against persons, with an increasing
emphasis on child abuse. Child abuse specialists assigned to each
regional office worked a total of 359 violent crimes against children
during the year. Because of the increasing number of cases, the
GBI Medical Examiners’ Office is expected to launch a new program
in the fall of 2000, aiding investigators in the evaluation of child
injuries and wounds.
As always, the GBI will continue
to do its part to provide public safety with quality services, benefiting
all citizens of Georgia. On behalf of the GBI and its employees,
thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Milton E. Nix,
Jr.
Director
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