In the 1940s, BCI also had a printing press, and used inmate labor to produce the book entitled, "The Science of Fingerprint Classification: As Taught and Used in the Ohio State Bureau of Identification and Investigation."

In 1972, Attorney General William Brown reorganized BCI into five separate divisions: identification, laboratory, investigations, administration, and data systems.

In 1998 under the tutelage of former Attorney General Betty Montgomery, a $20.3 million, 122,000-square-foot (11,300 m2) facility was erected which allowed BCI to be more visible to the community and expands its assistance to law enforcement.

In addition, BCI operates the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which allows law enforcement to conduct criminal record checks in an expedited manner.

There is also a system, called WebCheck, that allows some civilian agencies, such as schools and hospitals, to conduct criminal records checks over the World Wide Web.