About MoIAI

On November 28, 1964, fourteen people from around the state of Missouri, held a meeting at the Missouri State Highway Patrol HQ in Jefferson City. The purpose of this meeting was to form the Missouri Division of the IAI. They approved a Constitution and By-Laws, and voted unanimously to apply to the IAI for a Chartered Division. After review by the International Board of Directors, a charter was granted on December 31, 1964.

At that first conference, the attending members of the Missouri Division elected the following officers:

President - Sgt. J. Buford McGahan (St. Louis Metropolitan Police Dept)
1st Vice President - Alfred J. Mettenburg (Kansas City Police Dept)
2nd Vice President - Ray B. Jenkins (Missouri State Highway Patrol)
Secretary/Treasurer - Gerald L. Lovell (Kansas City Police Dept)
Board of Directors - Russell C. Griffing (Kansas City Police Dept)
Donald Brocksmith (St. Louis Metropolitan Police Dept)

After 40 years, the objectives of the Missouri Division remain the same, however, now we refer to them as a mission statement. Those objectives were (and continue to be):

  • To associate persons who are actively engaged in the profession of Identification and scientific crime detection in an organized body within the State of Missouri, so that the profession in all of its branches may be standardized and effectively and scientifically administered.
  • To encourage the enlargement and improvement of the Science of Fingerprints and other branches of scientific identification and crime detection.
  • To keep its members apprised of the latest techniques and discoveries in crime detection.
  • To encourage research work in scientific crime detection
  • To raise the standards of all personnel engaged in scientific crime detection
  • To employ the collective wisdom of the profession, and to advance this scientific technique of personal identification and detection.
  • To work closely with the IAI in furthering the profession of identification in general.

As we gather each year at our educational conference, may we always be reminded of the above objectives and strive to learn the latest techniques and continually update our skills in an objective manner.