Oklahoma State Bureau Of Investigation

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and is the primary investigative agency of the state government. OSBI works independent of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to investigate criminal law violations within the state at the request of statutory authorized requesters. The OSBI was created in 1925 during the term of Governor Martin E. Trapp.

The OSBI is governed by a seven-member commission, with each member of the commission appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma. The commission then appoints a director, who serves at the pleasure of the commission, as the chief executive officer of the OSBI. The current director is Angela Spurlock and was appointed to serve as Director on September 1, 2022.

History

Origins

In the early 1920s gangs of outlaws roamed the state robbing and burglarizing banks and terrorizing the citizens of many Oklahoma towns. These gangsters often escaped lawmen by fleeing across county lines. The United States Marshals Service was the only law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction, but its officers were outnumbered by the bandits.

In 1925, Governor of Oklahoma Martin E. Trapp, in his State of the State address recommended the creation of an agency of special investigators or state police to combat the outlaws. The Oklahoma Legislature appropriated $78,000 to establish the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. A year after its creation, the Bureau's three agents or operatives were credited with reducing the number of bank robberies in the state by roughly 75 percent. Agents accomplished this by developing leads and using informants which were considered by many to be innovative investigative techniques at the time.

In 1939, the Bureau was taken out from under the direction of the Adjutant General's Office and became a division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. It was during these years that the agency became known as the State Crime Bureau. This arrangement lasted until 1957, when the Bureau was placed under the direct control of the Governor's Office and renamed the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Also in 1957, the OSBI began to emerge as a professional law enforcement agency. In 1968, employees were placed under the merit system and for the first time, working for the agency was seen as a career opportunity rather than temporary employment.

Independence

In the wake of a controversial investigation of Governor David Hall by the Bureau, the agency was removed from the direct control of the Governor's Office. In 1976, a seven-member independent commission was created to oversee the activities of the OSBI. The makeup of the Commission includes: one police chief, one sheriff, one district attorney and four lay members. These members are appointed by the Governor and approved by the Oklahoma Senate to serve seven year staggered terms. In general, the OSBI Commission appoints the Director, hears complaints, establishes guidelines and serves as a buffer between the Bureau and potential political pressures concerning any particular investigations.

21st Century

On September 11, 2002, the OSBI was recognized as the first Oklahoma state law enforcement agency to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

On July 1, 2009, OSBI assumed the research functions of the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center and the Oklahoma Sentencing Commission, which were dissolved at that time. OSBI is now officially recognized by the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics as the State Analysis Center.

Responsibilities

The OSBI is responsible for serving as the lead scientific agency for the Oklahoma law enforcement community. The Oklahoma Legislature has directed OSBI to maintain a nationally accredited scientific laboratory to assist all law enforcement agencies in the discovery and detection of criminal activity. As such, OSBI operates the State Forensic Science Center in Edmond and four Regional Forensic Laboratories/Facilities across the State. OSBI also maintains a Statewide identification system which includes fingerprints, criminal history records, juvenile identification records, and DNA profiles.

OSBI also serves as the leading criminal investigation agency in the State. OSBI Agents partner with other state, county, and local law enforcement agencies to detect crime. OSBI provides assistance to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner, all district attorneys, local sheriff's office, and municipal police departments when assistance is requested. It is the duty of the OSBI to investigate and detect any and all criminal activity when so directed by the Governor of Oklahoma. Typical crimes investigated by OSBI at the request of other agencies are Part 1 Crimes: aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder, robbery, arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft.

The OSBI has original jurisdiction over, and may on its own initiative investigate, the following crimes:
*Vehicle and oil field equipment theft
*Criminal threats to public officials
*Computer crimes
*Crimes committed on the State's turnpikes

For any crime that OSBI does not have original jurisdiction over, a requesting agency must seek OSBI assistance in order for OSBI to investigate the crime. There are only a limited number of agencies or officials that can request the OSBI to conduct an investigation. They are:
*Police Chiefs
*County Sheriffs
*District Attorneys
*The Attorney General of Oklahoma
*The Governor of Oklahoma
*The Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints
*The Director of (or designee of) the Oklahoma Department of Human Services related to child abuse investigations
*Any District Judge related to a child abuse investigations
*The Chair of any committee of the Oklahoma Legislature which has subpoena power

Leadership

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Safety and Security. The OSBI Director, who is appointed by the OSBI Commission, has direct control over the OSBI. Under Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt, Tricia Everest is serving as the Secretary and Aungela Spurlock is serving as OSBI Director.

OSBI Commission

OSBI is governed by a seven-member OSBI Commission, with all members being appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma, with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve seven year terms. Governor may remove any member at any time only for cause. No more than two members of the Commission may reside in the same congressional district. Four members must be ordinary citizens, one must be a sitting district attorney, one must be a sitting county sheriff, and one must be a sitting chief of police.

As of 2023, the current members of the OSBI Commission are:
* Vic Regalado – chairman sheriff member
* Bryan Smith – vice chairman lay member
* Angela Marsee – D.A. member
* Ron Cunningham – lay member
* W. Roger Webb – lay member
* Tim Turner – lay member
* Joe Prentice - chief member

Rank structure

Divisions

Operational Division

Under the direction of the OSBI Director, Aungela Spurlock, this section is organized as follows:

* Legal Division
* Public Information Office
* Investigative Division
* Criminalistics Division

Legal Division

Public Information Office

The Public Information Office (PIO) strives to pursue opportunities to promote the good works of the bureau while keeping the public informed.  The PIO uses numerous outlets for dissemination of information including an OSBI Twitter account you can follow at @OSBIPIO, the OSBI Facebook page, the OSBI website www.osbi.ok.gov, and the information alert system Nixle a
www.nixle.com
 

Investigative Services Division

The primary duty of the OSBI Investigative Services Division is to assist local law enforcement agencies in solving crimes. OSBI agents offer a number of services including collecting and preserving evidence at crime scenes, participating in undercover investigations to obtain information and evidence, interviewing witnesses and apprehending criminals. Agents investigate many types of crime, including: homicides, rapes, assaults, white collar crime, public corruption, property crimes such as burglaries, Internet crimes against children, child abuse, auto theft and oil field theft. Services also include polygraph examinations, electronic surveillance, crime scene investigations, forensic art, judicial backgrounds, and local law enforcement training in areas of basic and advanced criminal investigations. Specially trained Crime Scene Agents are located statewide, ready at all times to conduct crime scene investigations as well as to collect and preserve evidence from the scenes they investigate.

The OSBI Investigative Services Division is home to the Criminal Intelligence Unit which provides investigative support to the division, as well as home to the Oklahoma State Clearinghouse for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The Division is divided into six regional investigative offices with geographic based jurisdiction and five headquarters investigative units with functional based authority and State-wide jurisdiction:

''Regional Investigative Units''
*Northwest Region Office - Woodward
**Northwest Satellite Office - Weatherford
*Southwest Region Office - Duncan
*North Central Region Office - Stillwater
*South Central Region Office - Headquarters
*Northeast Region Office - Tulsa
**Northeast Satellite Office - Tahlequah
*Southeast Region Office - McAlester
**Southeast Satellite Office - Antlers
''Headquarters Units''
*Internet Crimes Against Children Unit
*Special Investigations Unit
*Crime Scene Investigations Unit
*Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Unit
*Crimes Information Unit

Criminalistics Services Division

Created in 1953, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation’s Criminalistics Services Division (CSD) provides a multitude of forensic science services to law enforcement agencies operating within Oklahoma. The Division provides services out of a number of strategically located laboratories throughout our State, with the majority of services being performed in our Forensic Science Center (FSC) in Edmond, OK.  The regional laboratories and facilities are:

* Eastern Regional Facility – McAlester, OK
* Northeastern Regional Laboratory – Tahlequah, OK
* Northwestern Regional Laboratory – Enid, OK
* Southwestern Regional Facility – Lawton, OK

The CSD is divided into seven disciplines and provides forensic services as follows:

* Latent Evidence Unit – specializes in latent print and footwear collection, examination, development, and comparison.
* Firearms & Toolmarks Unit – specializes in the identification of fired ammunition components (bullets and cartridge cases), firearms functionality, Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS) entry, serial number restoration, distance determination, and toolmark identification.
* Forensic Biology Unit – the Forensic Biology discipline is housed at two locations in the state, the FSC in Edmond, OK, and Northeastern Regional Laboratory in Tahlequah, OK.  The Forensic Biology discipline specializes in the identification of body fluids and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis of samples collected in criminal investigations.
* Trace Evidence Unit – offers analysis in the areas of fiber, paint, physical match, ignitable liquids, pressure tape and adhesive analysis, gunshot residue, and elemental analysis.
* Controlled Substances Unit – the Controlled Substances Unit is housed in three locations within the state, the FSC, in Edmond, OK, the Northeastern Regional Laboratory in Tahlequah, OK, and the Northwestern Regional Laboratory in Enid, OK.  The Controlled Substances Unit specializes in analysis of unknown powders, crystals, liquids, tablets, waxes, blotter paper, and plant material to determine the chemical identity.
* Forensic Toxicology Unit – provides forensic toxicology services for state, county, and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Oklahoma submitting blood samples in cases involving violation of Title 47 of the Oklahoma State Statutes and for agencies submitting blood and urine in cases involving violent crimes. Services are also provided for agencies submitting beverages for alcoholic content testing.
* Quality System – the OSBI CSD Quality System addresses a myriad of components critical to quality work, including requirements for areas such as personnel (educational requirements, training, competency testing, on-going proficiency testing, etc.), methods (appropriately documented, validated, inclusion of appropriate standards and controls, etc.), and equipment (maintenance, calibration, etc.).  In addition, continuously monitors the quality of services provided and identifies opportunities for improvement.

Support Services Section

Under the direction of the OSBI Deputy Director Andrea Fielding, this section is organized as follows:

Administrative Services/Support Services Division

Central business office of OSBI. Has responsibility for supporting the Director by providing budgeting, procurement and facilities management, human resources and other support services to the entire Bureau.

The section is organized as follows:
*Accounting and Budget Section
*Procurement and Facilities Section
*Human Resources Section

Information Technology Division

Office of Professional Standards and Training

Information Services Division

Created in 1991, the Information Services Division was created as the fourth division within the OSBI and is under operational control of a Division Director who is responsible for the coordination of all division programs. Its purpose is to handle the increased demand for information by law enforcement agencies across the state as well as the public.

This division is the central repository for all criminal records in Oklahoma and is responsible for collecting data ranging from statewide crime statistics to information for criminal history checks.

The division is divided into two sections and is organized as follows:

''Criminal Identification Section''

* Identification Unit (ID) – manages the 10-print portion of the OSBI database of fingerprints (AFIS), examines, and compares fingerprint images to make positive identifications of arrest records entered by CHMU.
* Criminal History Management Unit (CHMU) – responsible for creating, updating and maintaining Oklahoma Criminal History records. CHMU is also responsible for the sealing and expunging of criminal records as the result of court orders.
* Correlation Services Unit (CSU) – in 2019, this unit was implemented specifically for the purpose of improving the accuracy, completeness, and accessibility of non-Triple I criminal history records. In addition, their efforts help to identify persons that may be prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms due to domestic violence convictions and/or felony convictions.
* Biometric Field Services Unit (BFSU) – created in 2005 to improve and maintain the efficiency of accurate arrest information submitted to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) by law enforcement agencies.  BFSU is responsible for the training and certification of law enforcement agencies in the use of Livescan devices as well as capturing fingerprints using ink. BFSU is also responsible for the Mobile ID system, an investigative tool used by police officers to help make quick identification of individuals of concern by using a two-finger submission that searches both the OSBI AFIS database and the FBI Repository for Individuals of Special Concern (RISC) database.
* Disposition Services Unit (DSU) – this unit’s primary responsibility is updating arrest records in the state repository with criminal case filings and disposition data. The state's district attorneys and municipal court clerks provide the unit with information on charges filed or declined and final dispositions reached in their jurisdictions.

''Data Collection, Licensing and Reporting''

* Criminal History Reporting Unit (CHRU) and CHIRP – This unit is responsible for conducting checks of the criminal history database for non-criminal justice purposes at the request of the public.  Members of the general public as well as businesses can use the automated Criminal History Information Request Portal (CHIRP) to request a name-based criminal history record check electronically.
* Field Services Unit (FSU) – this unit is responsible for Oklahoma's Uniform Crime Reporting System.  State law requires all state, county, city and town law enforcement agencies to report to this system.  FSU employees train agencies in the collection of crime statistics and provide ongoing program support as well as overseeing the installation, maintenance and upgrades for the Offender Data Information System (ODIS) case management system used by over 270 law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma to track reported crimes and their statistics to the State Incident-Based Reporting System (SIBRS).
* Oklahoma Violent Death Reporting System (OKVDRS) - is a collaborative effort between the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the OSBI.  This national surveillance system collects information on violent deaths to include suicides, homicides, deaths from legal intervention (a subtype of homicide where the victim is killed by or died as a result of law enforcement acting in the line of duty), deaths of undetermined intent, and unintentional firearm fatalities.  
* Self-Defense Act Licensing Unit (SDA) – In 1995, the OSBI was given the responsibility to license Oklahoma residents to carry firearms and the SDA unit was formed. The unit is responsible for the management of the licensees and conducts suspensions or revocations for those who commit infractions while licensed.  Even though applications for an SDA license have declined since the permitless carry bill (11/1/2019) went in to effect, Oklahoman’s can still apply for a permit. One benefit of obtaining a permit is reciprocity, which makes it legal to carry a gun in some other states without needing to obtain a license from each state.
* Oklahoma Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) – The Oklahoma SAC was created August 1, 1989. Since then, the Oklahoma SAC has been housed at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, and the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center.  In 2009, the Oklahoma SAC was moved to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.  Functions of the Oklahoma SAC can be found i
22 O.S. § 1517

Personnel

Staffing

The State Bureau of Investigation, with an annual budget of over $49 million, is one of the larger employers of the State.

Requirements

In order to by employed as a Special Agent with the OSBI, an individual must, at the time of employment, be at least 21 years old and must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Neither the OSBI Commission nor the OSBI Director have the authority to waive these requirements. In addition, all employees must be persons of "outstanding honesty, integrity and ability."

Promotions

All promotions from Agent II into the higher ranks are based on tests administered by the OSBI Director, in consultation with the Administrator of the Oklahoma Office of Personnel Management.
In general, the following minimum requirements are needed to obtain the following ranks:
*Agent I - Basic certified law enforcement experience
*Agent II - One year of investigative law enforcement experience
*Special Agent - Three years of investigative law enforcement experience
*Assistant Special Agent in Charge - Three years of law enforcement experience
* Special Agent in Charge - Two years of experience as supervisor of investigative unit.
*Division Director - four years of law enforcement experience with two years of supervisory experience

The positions of OSBI Director and Deputy Director are in the unclassified service of the state. They are appointed by the OSBI Commission without consideration to the classified employees of the OSBI. Any classified Agent that is appointed Director or Deputy Director is eligible to return to their position in the classified service without loss of benefit or salary. In order to be eligible to be appointed OSBI Director, an individual must:
*be a professional law enforcement officer with at least five years in law enforcement
*have at least two years experience in an administrative position with a law enforcement agency

The qualifications of the Deputy Director are the same as the Director.

Pay Structure

As established by Oklahoma law, with the Director, Deputy Director and Division Director executive and Special Agent in Charge salary increases only, effective July 1, 2014, the annual salaries for OSBI law enforcement agents are as follows:

Budget

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's budget is generated primarily be annual appropriations from the Oklahoma Legislature. Annual appropriations make up 46% ($17.1 million), 36% generated from the fees charged by the Bureau ($13.3 million), and the remaining 19% ($7 million) coming from various other sources.

The majority of OSBI's budget (69% or $25.9 million) is spent on employee benefits and salaries. 25% ($9.2 million) goes to operating expenses and the remaining 6% ($2.4 million) are dedicated to various other expenses.

For fiscal year 2011, each of the operating units of the Bureau operate with the following budgets:

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, 4 officers have died in the line of duty.The Officer Down Memorial Page
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See also

*Oklahoma Department of Public Safety
*Federal Bureau of Investigation
*State bureau of investigation

References

External links

OSBI homepage
* Unsolved Case - Jack Burris

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oklahoma State Bureau Of Investigation
Bureau of Investigation
1925 establishments in Oklahoma
State Bureaus of Investigation