Investigation Division
The goal of
the Investigation Division
is to perform thorough and accurate
investigations
of matters that by their
nature are not routinely handled by the
Patrol
Division. Detectives are assigned
to
investigate serious and complex
crimes requiring technical skills, abilities,
resources and very often specialized
training.
The Division is structured
utilizing a specialization concept in which
criminal cases are assigned by established
categories to the appropriately staffed
and trained section for follow-up investigation.
The Investigation Division operates under
the command of a Lieutenant who directs
(6) Section Sergeants and the clerical
staff. The Investigation Division is divided
into the following sections:
·
Administration/Clerical:
The clerical section is a Division Secretary position. This
person performs a large variety of
clerical and filing tasks.
These duties include homicide case file management,
transcribing lengthy tape recorded
interviews, preparing
case files on very large or complex cases, ordering all
supplies and managing the incoming telephone calls, and
maintaining a variety
if statistical data as well as a compre-
hensive equipment inventory.
· Coroner:
In the State of California
the duties of every Sheriff include those
of Coroner as defined and authorized
by statute. In the County
of Santa
Cruz, the Sheriff-Coroner is charged with the investigation
of all sudden and
unexpected deaths, securing the decedents personal
property pending legal
disposition and the internment of indigents.
This
unit also handles all missing person cases. The Coroner Section is staffed
by one
supervising sergeant and two detectives.
Additionally, the coroner
section employs a contract forensic
pathologist who conducts autopsy
examinations.
·
Crime Scene
Investigation (CSI) & Property and Evidence:
This section is comprised
of one Sergeant and two Detectives who are
trained in physical evidence
collection, preservation and the reconstruction
of crime scenes. They are available 24-hours a day seven days
a week for
response. The same Sergeant
also supervises two Property Clerks who run
the Sheriff’s Property &
Evidence facility and one Community Service Officer
(CSO) who is responsible
for the Sheriff’s Live Scan fingerprinting operation.
·
Robbery/Homicide/Domestic
Violence:
The Robbery/Homicide Section (also referred to as “Persons Crimes”) investigates
all homicide and suspicious death
cases which occur in the Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction.
They are also
responsible for the investigations of all robbery, kidnapping, serious
battery,
elder abuse and assault cases, in addition to all other non-sexual or domestic
violence crimes against the public. The unit is normally staffed by one supervising
sergeant and
three detectives. This section receives
an average of 250 to 300
cases for
review each month.
The Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division Sexual Assault/Physical Child
Abuse
Unit consists of a Sergeant who supervises three detectives and a staff
of three
contract nurses and a Physician who conduct forensic sexual assault examinations.
Investigative responsibility is broken down
in four primary areas:
1. Sexual assault committed against adults
2. Sexual assault committed against children
3. Physical assault committed against children
4. Registration and investigation of convicted sex offenders.
·
Crimes against
Property, High Technology Crimes:
The Property Crimes section is comprised of one supervising Sergeant and three
Detectives. One detective in this unit
is assigned to the High Technology Crimes
task force in San Jose. The remaining
two detectives are assigned to conduct
follow-up investigations involving crimes
of identity theft, theft, burglary, forgery,
fraud and vandalism. The Property Crimes section receives on average
350 to 400
cases per month to review and a varying percentage of those are
assigned to a
detective to conduct follow-up investigation.
·
Narcotic
Enforcement Team (NET) / County Narcotic Enforcement
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Enforcement Team
(NET) is staffed by a detective
sergeant assigned to supervise the section, four full-time detectives and one
half-time assistant district attorney who are funded by grants.
The NET
section targets street level narcotics users and sellers, commercial
indoor/outdoor
marijuana cultivation and marijuana traffickers and methamphetamine
manufacturers
and sellers. This team is funded by
three grants. Two grants are
awarded by the
State Office of Emergency Services (OES), one for the Marijuana Suppression
Program
(MSP) and one for the California Methamphetamine Program (Cal-Meth).
The final
grant is awarded by at the Federal level for the Cannabis Eradication Program (CEP).
Work by this unit is accomplished through the use of informants, citizen tips,
and information
provided by other law enforcement agencies and a variety of investigative
techniques.
The
Investigation Division Sergeants are responsible for reviewing all felony and
misdemeanor reports
prepared by Sheriff’s Office personnel and conducting
appropriate follow up investigation on those cases.
In 2005, the Sheriff’s Office generated more than 1000 cases per
month. Of those cases reviewed
approximately
542 felony and 272 misdemeanor cases were assigned to detectives for follow-up
investigation.
In addition, Sheriff’s
Investigation Division detectives initiated 235 felony and 212 misdemeanor
investigations.
The total of theses
investigations resulted in 376 felony and 208 misdemeanor arrests by the
Investigation
Division. In their
investigations, detectives prepared criminal reports requesting 283 arrest
warrants and
they wrote and served a total of 90 search warrants during the
course of 2005. In 2005, the
Investigation
Division investigated no homicide cases that occurred in the
Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction. This
year was the
first in more than 10 years where no homicides occurred in the
unincorporated jurisdiction of the County
of Santa Cruz.
Sheriff’s Investigation Division Mon-Fri 8AM to 5PM (831) 454-2311
Sheriff’s Anonymous Tip Line
- 24 hours (831) 454-2847
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Santa Cruz County
Sheriff |