NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Comptroller's Office released a myriad of reports on different state agencies and programs on Monday. Among them was a report on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The report began by noting the TBI took steps to address issues raised in the previous, September 2020 audit. It said the TBI began notifying the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators when it removed a person from a state registry. It also created openings for 50 new forensic scientists and five new digital forensics examiner positions to reduce turnaround times and backlogs of sexual assault kits.
However, it said the TBI would now need to train its dozens of new employees — which could take "anywhere from a few months to approximately two years." Until the workers are fully trained, the report said they will not be able to reduce existing workloads or improve evidence-processing backlogs.
It also said because existing staff contribute to new hires' training, they have less time to contribute to testing evidence. In lieu of TBI staff testing sexual assault kits, the report said the bureau outsourced testing to other states.
"Management is still facing the potential for increased backlogs due to the delays in having enough fully trained staff available. Without a sufficient number of fully trained staff, management may experience longer wait times for the testing of evidence and possible delays in courts delivering justice for those found guilty or exoneration for individuals who are wrongly accused of a crime," the report said.
The bureau also faces backlogs in other kinds of cases, especially in internet crimes against children. The report said tips in those cases are likely to increase and may overburden investigative resources. Generative artificial intelligence technology is contributing to the risk.
The technology can be used to create child sexual abuse material. The report said in 2023, a national advocacy center received 4,700 tips involving artificially generated sex abuse content. The bureau said generated content can resemble real children, complicating TBI efforts to determine if actual children are in danger.
TBI is trying to be proactive and address AI-related concerns. The bureau is "working on ways to confuse the generative AI technology and allow people to protect their image," the report said. However, the bureau may need additional resources in the future to address AI-related cases.
It also said the bureau took some steps to fix previously noted issues with its information systems but did not address all of the office's concerns.
The report said because those issues involved confidential information, the Comptroller's Office would not provide specific details about them. Instead, it provided the TBI with "detailed information regarding the specific conditions we identified, as well as the related criteria, causes, and our specific recommendations for improvement."
It also recommends the bureau ask for help from the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration, or from the General Assembly, to stop having to collect a $50 fee related to its sex offender registry.
"The TBI’s expertise lies in criminal investigation, not in fee collection. TBI does not have the proper personnel or infrastructure to adequately manage acquisition of SOR fees from all the supervising agencies across the state," the report said.
