The National Bureau of Criminal Identification (NBCI), also called the National Bureau of Identification,
was an agency founded by the National Chiefs of Police Union in 1896, and opened in 1897, to record identifying information on criminals and share that information with
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
.
It was located in Chicago until 1902, at which point it was moved to
Washington, D.C. Allan Pinkerton
Allan J. Pinkerton (August 25, 1819 – July 1, 1884) was a Scottish cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have foiled a plot in 1861 to a ...
donated his agency's collection of photographs to the newfound agency.
NBCI initially only collected photographs and
Bertillon records,
which limited the Bureau's effectiveness.
Its effectiveness greatly increased when it began collecting fingerprints. NBCI ceased to exist as an independent organization when it was absorbed into the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...
on July 26, 1908.
References
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Federal Bureau of Investigation
Fingerprints
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