Investigative Division

Specialized Work Units

The Financial Investigative Unit (FIU) supplies auditors and agents to assist in the tracking and seizure of illegally gained assets. The unit also analyzes financial records pertaining to criminal activity, and monitors cash transaction reports. FIU provides forensic auditor support to GBI offices conducting financial investigations.

The Anti-Terrorist Team, established as part of the GBI under Georgia Code Section 35-3-63, focuses on subversive organizations such as white supremacist groups operating in Georgia. Personnel from this unit also investigate terrorist acts such as the three recent bombings in the Atlanta area.

The State Health Care Fraud Control Unit is specifically designated to investigate heath care providers defrauding the State Medicaid System. The unit is also charged with investigating and prosecuting cases of criminal patient abuse in Medicaid funded health care facilities. It is comprised of GBI agents, GBI criminal intelligence analysts, lawyers from the State Law Department and auditors from the State Department of Audits.

The mission of the GBI Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) is to support state, local, and federal public safety agencies by responding to render safe calls with regards to suspect packages, improvised explosive devices, improvised incendiary devices, known explosive devices, destruction of old explosives, and weapons of mass destruction. The unit acts independently or works with other certified bomb squads statewide to carry out the mission. The GBI Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) currently has twenty-five (25) certified bomb technicians located throughout the state of Georgia.  There are six (6) full-time bomb technicians and nineteen (19) part-time bomb technicians.  The part-time bomb technicians are assigned to other work units but called upon when needed to respond to a bomb call.  Bomb technician candidates must complete a six week course at Hazardous Devices School at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama in order to become certified a certified bomb technician. There are various other specialty schools required to be completed as well as attending monthly GBI BDU training.  Due to the acquisition of federal grant money through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), the GBI BDU has purchased state of the art equipment in order to provide a bomb response mission in the State of Georgia. The GBI BDU currently has 8 Bomb Response trucks in service.  These trucks consist of 6 Freightliner FL 60’s and 2 Ford E-350 vans.  The Freightliners are in the following locations: Atlanta, Gainesville, Cartersville, Macon, Savannah, and Thomasville.  One of the Ford E-350 vans is located in Douglas, Georgia.  Within the next few weeks, the GBI BDU will add three additional response trucks to their fleet.  These trucks were designed to travel in more rural areas and will be placed in the following areas: East Georgia, West Georgia, and another in Atlanta.  These response trucks are Ford F-550’s. The Freightliners and F-550 trucks are equipped with a full compliment of conventional bomb disposal equipment and WMD/HAZMAT equipment.  All response trucks are equipped with the REMOTEC Andros brand robots.

The Training Unit conducts basic and advanced courses for all GBI personnel. These courses include the GBI Agent Basic Course, 20 hours of annual in-service training for all GBI Agents as provided in Georgia Code Section 35-8-21, and firearms training.

The Intelligence Unit provides specialized support services to GBI agents, as well as to state, federal, and local law enforcement agencies. The unit maintains approximately 100,000 criminal intelligence reports gathered by GBI agents or submitted by other agencies who are members of various criminal justice organizations. The unit provides analytical assistance in major investigations, alerts GBI personnel about new crime trends and serves as the Georgia liaison for Interpol. The Georgia Center on Missing Children is part of the Intelligence Unit.

The statewide Polygraph Unit administers polygraph examinations for the GBI and other criminal justice agencies upon request. The GBI has eleven polygraph examiners in the Investigative Division.

Investigative Staff Services (ISS) provides certain administrative services to the entire Investigative Division. ISS orders, stocks, and maintains all agent supplies to include radios, weapons, ammunition and related materials. The Bingo Unit oversees the licensing and regulation of the State's 270 bingo operations.

The Communications Center is operational twenty-four hours a day for all three GBI Divisions. The Center responds to more than 200 telephone calls, 125 radio messages and 700 teletype messages per day.

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