Mission
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is dedicated to providing professional investigative, laboratory and criminal justice information services to criminal justice agencies for the purpose of promoting public safety and preventing crime in Kansas.
Organization of the KBI
The KBI has nearly 300 employees and is headquartered in Topeka. Additionally, it has offices in Wichita,
Great Bend, Lenexa, and Pittsburg, and laboratories in Topeka, Great Bend, Kansas City and Pittsburg.
Divisions of the KBI are:
- Field Investigations Division
- Special Operations Division
- Forensic Laboratory Division
- Information Services Division
- Information Technology
History of the KBI
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) was established in 1939 by the Kansas Legislature. The KBI is a
division of the Office of Attorney General and is led by a director appointed by the Attorney General.
Upon its establishment, the KBI was given statewide jurisdiction to assist local agencies in dealing with more
mobile and complex criminal activity. When the KBI was first created these crimes were often bank robberies.
Still today, the KBI's principal function is providing expertise and assistance to local police and sheriff's
departments as they investigate major criminal incidents.
The KBI was also given the authority to maintain the state's criminal justice records, and later the KBI Forensic Science Laboratory
was added to provide forensic science services to the Kansas criminal justice community.
Since 1939 twelve KBI directors have served at the pleasure of sixteen attorneys general.
View the Directors of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation
Heraldry of the KBI Seal
The words, "Dedication, Service, Integrity", describe the mission of the KBI and the motivating force behind the men and women of the KBI.
The seal's colors have special significance. The dominant yellow and gold background, colors of Kansas wheat, reflects the state's agricultural heritage. The seal's endless blue circle and scales represent justice. The color red stands for valor and the color white stands for truth.
The large six-pointed star in the seal's foreground is symbolic of the authority of the Kansas sheriff, originally granted to KBI special agents.
The seal's six smaller stars symbolize our state's motto, "Ad Astra Per Aspera", or "To the Stars Through Difficulties".
