ATLANTA -- Solving violent crimes against children is the number one priority of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to GBI Director Vernon Keenan.
Keenan and other GBI officials talked about the bureau's mission during a media open house on Friday.
Here are some other key points made during the media briefing:
* Amber alerts: "Our track record on amber alerts is very high. Just about every time, a child is recovered, though sometimes they're deceased," Keenan said. "When we issue an Amber alert or Levi's Call, the phones light up." Keenan explained that the alerts are reserved for child abductions, not just missing children, and usually involve stranger abductions.
* Child sex trafficking: "The problem is prolific, and it's even happening in rural communities," said Deputy Director Rusty Andrews. Andrews said it usually involves runaways. "Pimps will travel them around the state and out of state," he said.
* Child computer pornography: "There's so much of this that we could assign every agent to these cases, and they would never lack for something to do," Andrews said. Andrews said the agents assigned to these cases are driven to make a difference. "The good overrides the bad," he said. "It's a heinous crime." He added that agents go through yearly psychological evaluations."
* Sex Offender Registry: There are about 24,000 registered sex offenders in Georgia. About 500 are considered "predators." Another 500 or so are absconders, meaning they've failed to report their whereabouts.
* Crime Lab: The GBI Crime Lab has historically struggled with big backlogs that delayed criminal investigations and prosecutions, but that has changed. "Our backlog is marginal right now," Keenan said. "We've done very well." The current backlog is 4,000 cases. Those are cases that have been in the system for more than 30 days. About 80 percent cases are turned around within 45 days.
* Heroin cases: The GBI Crime Lab and state medical examiner's office are seeing more heroin cases and overdoses. There were 24 heroin overdoses in 2013, according to Assistant GBI Deputy Director Julie Gardner. There were only 3 cases in 2010. The Crime Lab has seen a 300 percent increase in heroin cases.
* Prescription drugs: Toxicology tests take longer now to sort out since it's more common to see cases with as many as 15 different drugs involved. "Of the six bodies in our medical examiner's office today, five involve prescription drug overdoses," Gardner said.
* Police use of deadly force Investigations: "Now we handle most of the cases in the state of Georgia, with the exception of metro Atlanta law enforcement agencies," Keenan said.
* Public corruption cases: "We're not hesitant to investigate anyone. We don't fear retribution," Keenan said.
* Open records requests: "Transparency is how you keep government honest. We have no secret investigations," Keenan said.
