Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI)

What Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) does

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is a statewide law enforcement agency established in 1939 by the Kansas Legislature as a division of the Office of Attorney General. It provides professional investigative, laboratory, and criminal justice information services to Kansas criminal justice agencies, supporting local police and sheriff's departments in investigating major criminal incidents with statewide jurisdiction. The agency is organized into three branches: Investigations, Criminal Justice Services, and Administration, and operates a comprehensive Forensic Science Laboratory with specialized disciplines including Biology, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Chemistry, Digital Evidence, DNA Databank, Firearms, Latent Prints, Toxicology, and Trace Evidence. KBI also maintains the state's criminal justice records and DNA databank, and operates public-facing services including the Kansas Missing Persons database, Registered Offender Search, Criminal History Record Checks, the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), and the Kansas Amber Plan and Blue Alert systems.

KBI operates with approximately 350 employees across seven facilities: headquarters and a laboratory in Topeka, regional offices in Wichita, Lenexa, and Garden City, and additional offices and laboratories in Great Bend, Pittsburg, and Kansas City. The agency's business model is government appropriations-based: it is funded through annual state legislative budget allocations as a division of the Kansas Office of Attorney General, with no commercial revenue generation. Services to Kansas criminal justice agencies are provided at no direct charge, while certain public-facing services such as criminal history record checks are accessed through the Kansas.gov portal. The agency is led by a director appointed by the Attorney General, and since 1939, 13 directors have served under 17 attorneys general.

Name

Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI)

Legal name

Kansas Bureau of Investigation

Website

https://kbi.kansas.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is a statewide law enforcement agency, established in 1939 as a division of the Kansas Office of Attorney General, providing investigative, forensic laboratory, and criminal justice information services to Kansas criminal justice agencies across seven facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Topeka

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: KBI is a division of the Kansas Office of Attorney General, funded through state government appropriations. Revenue comes from annual legislative budget allocations rather than commercial revenue generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is a state government law enforcement agency that delivers professional investigative, laboratory, and criminal justice information services to Kansas criminal justice agencies. It operates the KBI Forensic Science Laboratory, which provides forensic analysis across disciplines including DNA, digital evidence, toxicology, latent prints, firearms, trace evidence, and chemistry, and maintains the state's criminal justice records and DNA databank. KBI also offers public-facing services such as criminal history record checks, registered offender search, missing persons information, and statewide emergency alert systems.

Product overview

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is a government law enforcement agency organized as a division of the Office of Attorney General, providing professional investigative, laboratory, and criminal justice information services. The agency operates through three main branches (Investigations, Criminal Justice Services, and Administration) and operates a comprehensive Forensic Science Laboratory with multiple specialized disciplines including Biology, Chemistry, Digital Evidence, DNA Databank, Firearms, Latent Prints, Toxicology, and Trace Evidence. The KBI also provides public-facing services including the KS Missing Persons database, Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, Registered Offender Search, Kansas Criminal History Record Check, the Kansas Amber Plan, and the Kansas Blue Alert systems. The agency supports Kansas criminal justice agencies with approximately 350 employees headquartered in Topeka, with additional offices in Wichita, Great Bend, Lenexa, Pittsburg, and Garden City, and laboratories in Topeka, Great Bend, Kansas City, and Pittsburg.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Federal agency with firearm and toolmark forensic expertise that directly overlaps KBI's Firearms and Toolmarks lab discipline. Federal primacy in firearms-related cases can reduce KBI's case volume in this area.
• Texas Department of Public Safety: A larger state-level law enforcement and public safety agency that provides investigative, forensic laboratory, and criminal justice information services across Texas — a scaled analogue of KBI's mission.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Federal investigative agency with overlapping forensic, criminal justice information, and DNA database (CODIS) functions. Operates at a national scale and can assume primacy in cases that might otherwise be handled by KBI.

Others

• Associated Laboratories (forensic services): Private forensic laboratory provider offering toxicology, DNA, and controlled-substance testing. Represents the alternative commercial supplier that could, in theory, be contracted by Kansas if KBI's capacity gaps persisted.
• National Institute of Justice: Federal research and standards body for criminal justice and forensic science. Sets standards, funds research, and publishes guidance that directly shapes KBI's forensic laboratory practices and accreditation requirements.

Regional players

• Missouri State Highway Patrol: Statewide law enforcement agency providing investigative and forensic services across Missouri. Comparable in scope and regional setting to KBI, though structured differently (under Department of Public Safety rather than Attorney General).
• Nebraska State Patrol: Statewide law enforcement agency in a neighboring state providing investigative and forensic services similar to KBI's mandate, though with a different organizational structure.

Direct peers

• Colorado Bureau of Investigation: Colorado's statewide investigative and forensic science agency within the Department of Public Safety, providing criminal justice information services and a forensic laboratory — closely comparable to KBI's three-branch structure.
• Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation: Iowa's state-level investigative bureau with statewide criminal jurisdiction, forensic laboratory services, and criminal history record maintenance — a structurally similar state agency to KBI.
• Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation: Oklahoma's statewide investigative agency with statutory jurisdiction, forensic laboratory services, and criminal justice information systems — a near-mirror of KBI's structure and mandate in an adjacent state.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kansas-bureau-of-investigation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI)