From the Asheville Citizen-Times (2/24/12): If the North Carolina Legislature is looking to do something meaningful, I suggest the following.
Make the State Bureau of Investigation adhere to the same public records law as our other state and local law enforcement agencies.
The way it is now, the SBI is the closest thing the state has ever had to total secrecy in law enforcement. The best way to hide something that goes wrong in law enforcement is to turn the investigation over to the SBI and then it disappears. Investigations involving public corruption, under current law, can go without the knowledge of the public if the case is handled by the SBI.