CAMPUS VISIT — FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Criminal Justice Information Services campus in Clarksburg provides valuable services to West Virginia law enforcement for combating the spread of illegal opioids, such as fentanyl. -- Steven Allen Adams

CLARKSBURG — FBI Director Christopher Wray traveled to West Virginia to meet with local, state and federal law enforcement officials Tuesday to discuss ways to further strengthen partnerships and fight the rise in opioid distribution and violent crime.

Wray visited the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services campus in Clarksburg, meeting with William Ihlenfeld, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, and representatives from local sheriff’s departments and police departments.

The focus of Tuesday’s visit was to discuss the threats that all levels of law enforcement in West Virginia face, including the spread of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and the rise in violent crime associated with the drug trade.

“I just finished a meeting, a great meeting really, with several of our law enforcement partners from across the state: chiefs, sheriffs, and other law enforcement leaders,” Wray said. “It was a great opportunity to talk about some of the most pressing threats that we’re working together to tackle.”

Wray also talked about the way the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office and the CJIS could be a resource for local law enforcement. CJIS, a branch of the FBI’s Science and Technology division, was formed when the FBI moved its fingerprint identification services to Clarksburg in 1995 after building the state-of-the-art facility in 1991.

The largest division of the FBI with more than 3,000 employees, CJIS includes the National Crime Information Center, Uniform Crime Reporting, and Fingerprint Identification and the National Incident-Based Reporting System, among other programs.

“It is a hub of innovation that plays an integral role in equipping our intelligence and law enforcement partners really all over the country with information they need to keep people safe, ranging from biometric identification services to law enforcement statistics, to name checks for firearm purchases,” Wray said.

“CJIS is one of those FBI divisions that has the most impact on the American people, that the American people know the least about, so I never pass up an opportunity to advertise the great work of the nearly 3,000 folks that we have working here at CJIS,” Wray said. “This team represents the best of the FBI. They keep their heads down working 24/7 without fanfare to keep Americans safe.”

Wray said it was the FBI’s partnerships with local law enforcement that was making a difference in the war on opioids and fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid more potent than heroin, oxycodone, and other opioids. Fentanyl is often cut into other drugs to increase the high users get, but it often leads to drug overdoses and deaths.

As an example, Wray touted the August drug bust by the Mon Metro Drug Task Force in Morgantown that seized a large batch of rainbow fentanyl, a colorful version of the opioids stamped to look like prescription opioids.

“Through our FBI-led task forces, FBI agents are working shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners to tackle the drug problem that’s impacting so many communities,” Wray said. “One team, one fight — that’s what’s making a big dent on this threat.”

Wray also cited the recent convictions of two people in Huntington who were part of a 19-defendant break-up of a multi-state drug distribution ring. The FBI Pittsburgh field office also worked with the West Virginia Department of Education and Allegheny Health Network to develop an opioid awareness video that’s being shown in schools across the state.

“It highlights the far-reaching effects illegal drug use can have, not only on those abusing drugs, but also on their family members and the larger community so we can reach vulnerable individuals before they fall prey to addiction,” Wray said.

The rise in opioids and fentanyl abuse have given rise to violent crime. Wray said West Virginia saw approximately 4,000 incidents of violent crime in 2021, along with an increase in violent crime committed by juveniles.

“In addition to working on combating illegal drugs, we’re also relying on our partnerships with state and local law enforcement to fight the rise in violent crime,” Wray said. “We’ve obviously got a lot more work to do, but I’m encouraged by the kind of real results we’ve been able to achieve through close collaboration.”

CJIS sits on 986 acres in Clarksburg and plays a pivotal role in advancing crime-fighting technologies that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies rely upon. Wray said the Clarksburg site offers future opportunities to expand the kinds of services the FBI could offer as technologies improve.

“It’s a service to the law enforcement community all over the country,” Wray said. “(CJIS) is a central function not just for the FBI, but for the law enforcement profession really all over the nation. We’re constantly seeing innovations here about how to make that more efficient and more effective. I view CJIS as a crown jewel of the FBI that we safeguard for the law enforcement profession all over the country.”