# Bureau of Criminal Apprehension *Statewide criminal investigative bureau of Minnesota, operating within the Department of Public Safety.* The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is the state's criminal investigative bureau. It is based in Saint Paul and supplies forensic science and investigative support to local law enforcement across [[Minnesota]].[^1] It is a division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, an executive-branch agency. Its duties include investigating killings by police and comparable incidents.[^1] The bureau's place in this record rests on one count. [[Star Tribune]] reporting, as recorded in the project's Dakota County dossier, found that the BCA investigated 83 officer-involved shootings across 65 departments between 2003 and 2013. Of those, 82 were found justified and one was not.[^2] The record establishes the count. It does not establish why the ratio arose. In a separate case, the Stearns County sheriff said at a September 2018 press conference that state BCA agents had been "kept at arm's length" in the Jacob Wetterling investigation. Retired FBI agents publicly disputed his account.[^3][^7] ## Who The [[Minnesota Legislature]] created the bureau in 1927. Its purpose was to help police departments statewide solve crimes and catch offenders, and it began under the direction of the office of the [[Minnesota Attorney General]].[^4] In 1969 it was transferred out of the Attorney General's office and into the Department of Public Safety, where it remains.[^4] The Wikipedia revision retrieved on October 27, 2026 names Drew Evans as superintendent.[^1] ## What The bureau has four divisions. Forensic Science Services does forensic work for agencies statewide and for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]].[^5] Its work includes: - crime-scene processing; - digital and multimedia evidence; - DNA, firearm, fingerprint, toxicology and trace-evidence examination; - calibration of breath-alcohol instruments.[^5] The Investigative Division assists local agencies with crime scenes, cold cases, human-trafficking and predatory-offender cases, special operations, and "use-of-force and conflict investigations."[^5] Minnesota Justice Information Services manages criminal-justice data shared among agencies.[^5] Professional Services trains investigators and supports missing-persons work and the state's Amber Alert system.[^5] The bureau also compiles crime statistics for state and local agencies.[^4] Other officials have given their own accounts of the bureau's role. At a September 2018 press conference, the [[Stearns County Sheriff]] said three things about the investigation of the Jacob Wetterling case: - it "went off the rails"; - "all of us failed"; - state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents had been "kept at arm's length."[^3] APM Reports published coverage of the investigation documents.[^6] Retired FBI special agents Al Garber and Steve Gilkerson publicly rebutted the sheriff's characterization. One of them had led a 1990 interview that the sheriff's account criticized.[^7] This record states both accounts and does not adjudicate between them. ## When The bureau's institutional history, as summarized in its Wikipedia entry, runs as follows:[^4] - **1927:** the Legislature created the bureau. - **1935:** its agents received full police power and became licensed peace officers statewide. - **1947:** the BCA Crime Lab opened in St. Paul. - **1969:** the bureau moved from the Attorney General's office to the Department of Public Safety. - **1990:** the lab became one of the first DNA laboratories in the country. - **2001:** a second forensic laboratory opened in Bemidji, and the Special Investigations Unit began joint work with federal agencies on multi-jurisdictional cases. - **2004:** the FBI chose the BCA as one of four regional mitochondrial DNA laboratories in the United States. The same entry states that the bureau was the first U.S. law-enforcement agency to identify a suspect by DNA alone.[^4] ## Where The bureau's headquarters are in Saint Paul.[^1] It has two regional offices, in St. Paul and Bemidji.[^5] Its eleven field offices are in Alexandria, Brainerd, Duluth, Grand Rapids, [[Mankato]], Marshall, Moorhead, Rochester, Roseau, [[St. Cloud]] and Willmar.[^5] ## How many - **Shooting investigations:** 83 officer-involved shootings were investigated by the BCA statewide from 2003 through 2013, across 65 departments. They produced 44 deaths and 39 injuries. Eighty-two were found justified and one was not, according to Star Tribune reporting relayed in the project's dossier.[^2] - **Offices:** two regional offices and eleven field offices.[^5] - **Line-of-duty deaths:** one BCA member had died in the line of duty as of 2025.[^8] ## In the at-issue record The project's dossier on the Dakota County review of police shootings records a stated principle and a stated policy:[^2] - officers "need to be held accountable like everyone else"; - "every fatal officer-involved shooting in Dakota County since 1990 went to a grand jury"; - the grand jury receives "a fair and unbiased presentation" and no recommendations. The at-issue pair sets the statewide BCA outcome beside that stated policy: 82 of 83 investigated shootings found justified between 2003 and 2013, and one not.[^2] The pair's anchor is a March 2026 presidential action establishing a task force to eliminate fraud. That document does not concern the BCA.[^9] The project's annotation on the pair describes a review process with a 98.8 percent clearance rate (82 of 83) as "a process, not a review."[^2] The dossier also records a later decision by the county attorneys. On June 4, 2020, the [[Minnesota County Attorneys Association]] voted at an emergency meeting to hand every police-involved death case to the state Attorney General. The change was prospective, and no prior case was reopened.[^2] The record establishes the count, the stated policy and the 2020 vote. It does not establish the reasons for the clearance ratio. ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension* (rev. 1334816292, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead section — headquarters, functions, place within the Department of Public Safety, superintendent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Bureau_of_Criminal_Apprehension [^2]: Minnesota wiki project, *Backstrom Apex Dossier* (2026-09-02), §III (validated), and at-issue row AI-Dakota-012 — the Dakota County stated principle and policy, the statewide 2003–2013 BCA count (83 shootings, 65 departments, 44 deaths, 39 injuries, 82 justified), the June 4, 2020 county attorneys' vote, and the row's annotation. The dossier cites Star Tribune and CBS News reporting for these facts; those URLs are not among this pack's allowed sources, so no link is given. [^3]: Star Tribune, *Stearns County sheriff says Jacob Wetterling case went off the rails* (September 2018) — the sheriff's press-conference statements, including that BCA agents were "kept at arm's length." https://www.startribune.com/stearns-county-sheriff-says-jacob-wetterling-case-went-off-the-rails/493816581/ [^4]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension* (rev. 1334816292, retrieved 2026-10-27), "History" section — 1927 creation, 1935, 1947, 1969, 1990, 2001 and 2004 milestones, crime statistics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Bureau_of_Criminal_Apprehension [^5]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension* (rev. 1334816292, retrieved 2026-10-27), "Divisions" section — divisions, services, regional and field offices. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Bureau_of_Criminal_Apprehension [^6]: APM Reports, *Wetterling investigation documents* (2018-09-20) — coverage of the Wetterling investigation file. https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2018/09/20/wetterling-investigation-documents [^7]: Star Tribune, *Sheriff's criticism of Jacob Wetterling investigation was irresponsible* (2018) — public rebuttal by retired FBI special agents Al Garber and Steve Gilkerson. https://www.startribune.com/sheriff-s-criticism-of-jacob-wetterling-investigation-was-irresponsible/494973271 [^8]: Wikipedia, *Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension* (rev. 1334816292, retrieved 2026-10-27), "Line of duty deaths" section — one line-of-duty death as of 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Bureau_of_Criminal_Apprehension [^9]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — presidential action used as the anchor of at-issue row AI-Dakota-012; it does not address the BCA. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/