Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Encyclopedia
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is the criminal investigative arm of the state government of Tennessee
.
It was established by the Tennessee General Assembly
on March 27, 1980, as an independent state agency. The TBI manages the state's three crime lab
s, assists local law enforcement in investigating major crime
s, and conducts special investigations related to illegal drugs, fugitive
s, public corruption
, official misconduct, organized crime
, domestic terrorism, healthcare fraud
, and patient abuse
.
The TBI has statutory responsibility for collecting state crime statistics
, which are published in an annual “Crime in Tennessee” report. It also manages a TBI Most Wanted list, AMBER Alert
program, and statewide registries of sex offender
s and methamphetamine
offenders.
The TBI is headed by a director who is appointed by the governor for a 6-year term. The director is also a member of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Planning Commission. The current director is Mark Gwyn, who was appointed in 2004. The agency employs about 500 people, almost half of whom are commissioned officers.
The motto of the TBI is "that guilt shall not escape, nor innocence suffer".
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
It was established by the Tennessee General Assembly
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
on March 27, 1980, as an independent state agency. The TBI manages the state's three crime lab
Crime Lab
A crime laboratory - often shortened to crime lab - is a scientific laboratory, using primarily forensic science for the purpose of examining evidence from criminal cases.- Lab personnel :A typical crime lab has two sets of personnel:...
s, assists local law enforcement in investigating major crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s, and conducts special investigations related to illegal drugs, fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
s, public corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, official misconduct, organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, domestic terrorism, healthcare fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, and patient abuse
Patient abuse
Patient abuse or neglect is any action or failure to act which causes unreasonable suffering, misery or harm to the patient. It includes physically striking or sexually assaulting a patient. It also includes withholding of necessary food, physical care, and medical attention...
.
The TBI has statutory responsibility for collecting state crime statistics
Crime statistics
Crime statistics attempt to provide statistical measures of the crime in societies. Given that crime is usually secretive by nature, measurements of it are likely to be inaccurate....
, which are published in an annual “Crime in Tennessee” report. It also manages a TBI Most Wanted list, AMBER Alert
AMBER Alert
An AMBER Alert or a Child Abduction Emergency is a child abduction alert bulletin in several countries throughout the world, issued upon the suspected abduction of a child, since 1996...
program, and statewide registries of sex offender
Sex offender
A sex offender is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and by legal jurisdiction. Most jurisdictions compile their laws into sections such as traffic, assault, sexual, etc. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crimes of a...
s and methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
offenders.
The TBI is headed by a director who is appointed by the governor for a 6-year term. The director is also a member of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Planning Commission. The current director is Mark Gwyn, who was appointed in 2004. The agency employs about 500 people, almost half of whom are commissioned officers.
The motto of the TBI is "that guilt shall not escape, nor innocence suffer".
Office locations
- MemphisMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
- JacksonJackson, TennesseeJackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
- NashvilleNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
- ChattanoogaChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
- CookevilleCookeville, TennesseeCookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. of Cookeville's population was 30,435, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's in 2010 was 65,014. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee...
- KnoxvilleKnoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
- Johnson CityJohnson City, TennesseeJohnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...