Georgia Commons

Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 35. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES · Chapter 3. GEORGIA BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION · Article 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

35-3-4. Powers and duties of bureau generally.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia.

  1. (a)

    It shall be the duty of the bureau to:#

    1. (1)

      Take, receive, and forward fingerprints, photographs, descriptions, and measurements of persons in cooperation with the bureaus and departments of other states and of the United States;#

    2. (2)

      Exchange information relating to crime and criminals;#

    3. (3)

      Keep permanent files and records of such information procured or received;#

    4. (4)

      Provide for the scientific investigation of articles used in committing crimes or articles, fingerprints, or bloodstains found at the scene of a crime;#

    5. (5)

      Provide for the testing and identification of weapons and projectiles fired therefrom;#

    6. (6)

      Acquire, collect, classify, and preserve any information which would assist in the identification of any deceased individual who has not been identified after the discovery of such deceased individual;#

    7. (7)

      Acquire, collect, classify, and preserve immediately any information which would assist in the location of any missing person, including any minor, and provide confirmation as to any entry for such a person to the parent, legal guardian, or next of kin of that person and the bureau shall acquire, collect, classify, and preserve such information from such parent, guardian, or next of kin;#

    8. (8)

      Exchange such records and information as provided in paragraphs (6) and (7) of this subsection with, and for the official use of, authorized officials of the federal government, the states, cities, counties, and penal and other institutions. With respect to missing minors, such information shall be transmitted immediately to other law enforcement agencies;#

    9. (9)

      Identify and investigate violations of Article 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 16;#

    10. (10)

      Identify and investigate violations of Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 12 of Title 16, relating to offenses related to minors;#

    11. (11)

      Identify and investigate violations of Article 8 of Chapter 9 of Title 16;#

    12. (12)

      Identify and investigate violations of Article 5 of Chapter 8 of Title 16;#

    13. (13)

      Identify and investigate violations of Code Section 16-5-46;#

    14. (14)

      Identify and investigate violations of Article 8 of Chapter 5 of Title 16;#

    15. (15)
      1. (A)

        Upon request, provide to the board an analysis of criminal history record information to assist the board in determining a sexual offender’s risk assessment classification in accordance with the board’s duties as specified in Code Section 42-1-14.#

      2. (B)

        As used in this paragraph, the term:#

        1. (i)

          “Board” means the Sexual Offender Risk Review Board.#

        2. (ii)

          “Criminal history record information” has the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 35-3-30.#

        3. (iii)

          “Risk assessment classification” means the level into which a sexual offender is placed based on the board’s assessment.#

        4. (iv)

          “Sexual offender” has the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 42-1-12;#

    16. (16)

      Identify and investigate violations of Chapter 2 of Title 21 involving elections which if established are sufficient to change or place in doubt the results of an election; and#

    17. (17)

      Attorneys employed by the Legal Division of the bureau may serve at the request of a district attorney, solicitor-general, or United States Attorney in the prosecution of any civil or criminal case within the jurisdiction of such district attorney, solicitor-general, or United States Attorney and, while providing such assistance to such district attorney, solicitor-general, or United States Attorney, such attorneys shall have the same authority and power as an attorney employed by such district attorney, solicitor-general, or United States Attorney.#

  2. (b)

    In addition to the duties provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, the members of the bureau shall have and are vested with the same authority, powers, and duties as are possessed by the members of the Uniform Division of the department under this title.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Ga. L. 1937, p. 322, art. 3, § 1; Ga. L. 1941, p. 277, § 4; Ga. L. 1974, p. 109, § 2; Ga. L. 1977, p. 752, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 35; Ga. L. 1984, p. 690, § 2; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 35; Ga. L. 1996, p. 416, § 9; Ga. L. 2007, p. 283, § 3/SB 98; Ga. L. 2008, p. 601, § 2/SB 388; Ga. L. 2010, p. 1162, § 2/SB 371; Ga. L. 2011, p. 217, § 9/HB 200; Ga. L. 2012, p. 351, § 5/HB 1110; Ga. L. 2012, p. 985, § 1/HB 895; Ga. L. 2013, p. 524, § 3-5/HB 78; Ga. L. 2013, p. 1056, § 3/HB 122; Ga. L. 2020, p. 82, § 2/SB 393; Ga. L. 2021, p. 417, § 1/HB 495; Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 10/SB 441; Ga. L. 2023, p. 637, § 5-1/HB 188, effective May 4, 2023; Ga. L. 2025, p. 1029, § 35(42)(Q)/SB 153, effective July 1, 2025.

Amendments

The 2023 amendment, effective May 4, 2023, substituted “Sexual Offender Risk Review Board” for “Sexual Offender Registration Review Board” in division (a)(15)(B)(i). The 2025 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “department” for “Department of Public Safety” in subsection (b).

Editor's notes

Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 1/SB 441, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “(a) The General Assembly finds that: “(1) The state’s current system for sharing criminal case data is not adequate to provide to all appropriately interested parties, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies and officers, courts, crime victims and other impacted individuals, housing providers, and employers, complete criminal case data; “(2) One recent report indicates there may be as many as 7 million criminal charges without a final disposition indicated, and, of those, as many as 5.4 million criminal charges have languished for years; “(3) Georgia’s citizens and businesses are harmed by incomplete criminal case data. For example, in thousands of cases, as a result of incomplete criminal case data, citizens’ employability and housing opportunities have been negatively impacted; and “(4) A more uniform, modern system and framework for handling criminal case data will support the state in meeting its obligations to victims to keep them informed as their perpetrators make their way through the criminal justice system. “(b) It is the intent of the General Assembly that criminal case data be complete and accurately reported to the appropriate state data base and be accessible to state and local criminal justice agencies, employers, housing providers, victims, and all citizens.” Ga. L. 2022, p. 121, § 2/SB 441, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Criminal Records Responsibility Act.’” Ga. L. 2023, p. 637, § 1-1/HB 188, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as ‘Mariam’s Law.’” Ga. L. 2023, p. 637, § 7-1/HB 188, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to division (a)(15)(B)(i) shall apply to all offenses committed on and after July 1, 2023.

Code Commission notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2012, paragraph (a)(14), as enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 985, § 1/HB 895, was redesignated as paragraph (a)(15), “and” was deleted at the end of paragraph (a)(13), and “; and” was substituted for a period at the end of paragraph (a)(14).

Cross references

Delivery to board of certain unclaimed bodies, § 31-21-21 et seq. Authority of director of forensic sciences division to make facilities of division available for post-mortem examinations and autopsies and to authorize licensed physicians or pathologists to act as medical examiners in performing post-mortem examinations or autopsies, § 45-16-22.

Law reviews

For annual survey of law on real property, see 62 Mercer L. Rev. 283 (2010). For article on the 2011 amendment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 131 (2011). For article, “Crimes and Offenses: Crimes Against the Person,” see 28 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 131 (2011). For annual survey on administrative law, see 64 Mercer L. Rev. 39 (2012). For article, “SB 441: Criminal Records Responsibility Act,” see 39 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 105 (2022).

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Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Session of the General Assembly of Georgia.

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