Vernon Keenan

Vernon Keenan is the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

Career History

Keenan graduated from Valdosta State University and the Law Enforcement Command College in Columbus, where he earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration. He began his career with DeKalb County Police Department in 1972. In 1973, he graduated from the GBI Basic Agent Class.

Keenan was instrumental in the publication of “A Law Enforcement Officer’s Guide to Open Records in Georgia.” Keenan has served on the Advisory Board for the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange Program since 2002. Since its inception in 2004, Keenan has been instrumental in the formation of the Georgia Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program.

As head of the GBI, Director Keenan oversees Georgia’s criminal investigative agency with 806 employees and a 2007 fiscal year budget of $84.5 million in state and federal funds. In 2004 during the G-8 Summit at Sea Island, Keenan was a member of the State Homeland Security Central Command responsible for protection of public safety, facilitation of law enforcement and coordination of state personnel. Keenan led the formation of the Georgia Terrorism Intelligence Project (GTIP). In 2004, the GBI was given the funding to develop and implement a state-wide multi-agency anti-terrorism program.

Affiliations

Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya | Georgia Terrorism Intelligence Project | Georgia Bureau of Investigation | World Summit on Counter-Terrorism | International Institute for Counter-Terrorism