FBI Laboratory

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Common name	Federal Bureau of Investigation
Abbreviation	FBI
Seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
agency information Badge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Motto Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity Agency overview Formed July 26, 1908; 108 years ago (1908-07-26) Employees 35,104 (October 31, 2014) Annual budget US$8.3 billion (FY 2014) Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Jurisdictional structure Federal agency (Operations jurisdiction) United States Legal jurisdiction As per operations jurisdiction. Governing body U.S. Department of Justice Constituting instrument United States Code Title 28 Part II Chapter 33 General nature Federal law enforcement Civilian agency Operational structure Headquarters J. Edgar Hoover Building Northwest, Washington, D.C. Sworn members 13,260 (October 31, 2014) Agency executives James B. Comey, Director Andrew G. McCabe, Deputy Director List of FBI Directors, Other directors Child agencies FBI Academy FBI Laboratory Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) Counterterrorism Division (CTD) FBI Police (FBIP) Major units 5 Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) Law Enforcement Bulletin Unit (LEBU) Hostage Rescue Team (FBI) (HRT) Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) FBI Police National Security Branch (NSB) Field offices 56 (List of FBI Field Offices) Notables People John Edgar Hoover, Director, for being the founding director William Mark Felt, former Federal Agent, for whistle blowing, Watergate scandal Joseph Leo Gormley, Forensic Scientist, for expert testimony Significant Operations COINTELPRO Special Intelligence Service Website www.fbi.gov

The FBI Laboratory is a division within the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation that provides forensic analysis support services to the FBI, as well as to state and local law enforcement agencies free of charge. The lab is currently located at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia. Opening November 24, 1932, the lab was first known as the Technical Laboratory. It became a separate division when the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) was renamed in the FBI.

From September 1934 to September 1975, the Lab was located on the 6th floor and the attic of Justice Department Building in Washington, D.C. Public tours of the lab work area were available until the FBI moved across the street to the newly constructed J. Edgar Hoover Building in 1974. Tours of the J. Edgar Hoover Building still were available, but the route the tour moved away from the lab work space thus sealing the lab from public view. The laboratory expanded to such an extent that the Forensic Science Research and Training Center (FSRTC) was established at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Methods at the FSRTC helped establish standardized forensic practices for law enforcement agencies. The FBI Lab has been in Quantico since the transition from Washington around 2004.

It is a full-service operation, with some 500 scientific experts and special agents. The lab generally enjoys the reputation as the premier crime lab in the United States. However, during the 1990s, its reputation and integrity came under withering criticism, primarily due to the revelations of Special Agent Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, the most prominent whistleblower in the history of the Bureau. Whitehurst was a harsh critic of conduct at the Lab, coming to believe that a lack of funding and a pro-prosecution bias of the Lab technicians, who were FBI agents first and forensic scientists secondly due to the institutional culture of the Bureau, had caused the tainting of much evidence.