Athens will join four other cities with Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation offices after an announcement Friday by Ohio Attorney General
Mike DeWine.
The BCI Athens office, which will be located at 86 Columbus Road, will assist local police departments, sheriff’s offices and prosecutor’s offices across Southeast Ohio with investigative crime analysis free of charge, said Lisa Hackley, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office.
“We’re trying to make it easier for law enforcement in the Southeast region of the state to bring evidence and have a polygraph operator … in a centralized location,” Hackley said.
Services provided by the office will include a full-time polygraph operator, evidence collection reception five days a week, offices for BCI special agents and interview rooms, according to a news release from the Attorney General’s office.
There will be three new employees hired, including a polygraph operator, Hackley said. Other office employees will be current staff transferring to the new office, she added.
Currently, the state has BCI offices in Bowling Green, Richfield, Youngstown and London, Hackley said.
The total budget to be split between the departments for fiscal year 2011 will be $51 million.
With the new Athens office, crime scene agents will be able to help local police agencies with investigations that require specific expertise, such as cybercrimes. Forensic scientists with the BCI also analyze DNA samples that aid in pending investigations and solving cold cases, according to the release.
BCI also houses the state’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System, the electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification database and a database of DNA profiles, according to the release.
The new office is expected to open by Aug. 1, Hackley said.
rs181308@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCity
