The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is a statewide criminal investigative bureau under the

Minnesota Department of Public Safety The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) is a department of the State of Minnesota in the United States. DPS is an enforcement, licensing and services agency that develops and operates programs in the areas of law enforcement, traffic safe ...

that provides expert

forensic science Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...

and

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservatio ...

services throughout the state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The BCA assists local, state, tribal, and

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

agencies in major criminal investigations. It is headquartered in

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. The BCA's current superintendent is Drew Evans.

History

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was created by the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

in 1927 in order to assist police departments statewide to solve crimes and apprehend criminals, under the direction of the

Minnesota Attorney General The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a DFLer. Electi ...

's office. The BCA gathers crime statistics to assist state and local agencies to identify criminal trends. In 1935, agents received full police power and were licensed police officers throughout the state. In 1947, the BCA Crime Lab was established in

to assist in solving of crimes via

, and was one of the first DNA laboratories in the United States in 1990. Later the BCA was the first law enforcement agency in the United States to identify a suspect solely on DNA. In 1969, the agency was moved under direction of the State Attorney General's Office to the

. In 2001, the BCA opened an additional forensic laboratory in

Bemidji Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making it ...

. In 2004, the Bureau became one of four laboratories in the United States selected by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

to serve as a regional mitochondrial DNA laboratory.

Divisions

*Forensic Science Division provides forensic science expertise to law enforcement agencies statewide and to the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

. This includes crime scene processing, digital and multimedia evidence collection, DNA collection and processing,

forensic firearm examination Forensic firearm examination is the forensic process of examining the characteristics of firearms or bullets left behind at a crime scene. Specialists in this field try to link bullets to weapons and weapons to individuals. They can raise and re ...

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

identification, Toxicology, Trace evidence, breath alcohol instrument calibration, and chemical testing. *Investigative Division provides criminal investigative assistance to law enforcement agencies statewide. BCA agents and analysts are positioned in two regional offices in St. Paul and Bemidji, along with 11 field offices located in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, Brainerd,

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, Moorhead,

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

, St. Cloud and Willmar. Services include crime scene investigations, cold case assistance, human trafficking investigations, predatory offender investigations, use-of-force and conflict investigations, and special operations. *Minnesota Justice Information Services (MNJIS), manages information between sources of criminal justice data for law enforcement agencies and criminal investigation agencies to help solve crimes via statistics and analysis. *Administrative Services provides training to law enforcement and investigation agencies to assist in crime scene investigation and investigation of crimes. In addition, assists in missing persons and the State's

Amber alert An Amber Alert (alternatively styled AMBER alert) or a child abduction emergency alert ( SAME code: CAE) is a message distributed by a child abduction alert system to ask the public for help in finding abducted children. The system originated i ...

system.

References

External links

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Minnesota Department of Public Safety
{{authority control State law enforcement agencies of Minnesota State Bureaus of Investigation 1927 establishments in Minnesota Government agencies established in 1927

History

Divisions

See also

References

External links