TBI requests new positions, proposes wastewater testing pilot funded by opioid abatement

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation asked the Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 17 for additional staff and a nonrecurring pilot to expand early drug detection capabilities and investigative support.

Director David Rausch outlined personnel requests across the agency that he said address gaps created by bureau growth: four victim-services positions to assist victims during investigations; seven intelligence-analyst positions to collect and process information for investigators; a four-person aviation crew to expand aircraft operations; two TBI police officers for facility protection in Memphis and Chattanooga; two Medicaid-fraud data-analytics positions (75% federally funded); and three administrative-support roles for human resources, legal and communications.

Rausch described a wastewater testing…