Investigative Operations
Is comprised of five individual sections: General Investigations, Street Crimes, Vice/Narcotics, Youth Services, and Intelligence. These operations strive to increase the clearance rate of major Part I offenses. A Captain is assigned as officer-in-charge of all Units assigned to the Investigative Division.
General Investigations
General Investigations is comprised of investigators who are extensively
trained in all aspects of criminal investigations. Some of the investigators
have received special training involving computer crimes, domestic
assaults and sexual assaults on children. Criminal activities which
are assigned to investigators involve crimes against persons and
property, commercial and residential breaking and entering, larcenies,
robberies, rapes, murders, white collar crimes, computer crimes
and child abuse. Areas of specialization include:
- Domestic Violence
- Financial Crimes
- Computer Crimes
- Sexual Abuse
- Crime Scene Forensics
- Fingerprint Analysis
- Polygraph Examination
For a brochure on Crime Victim and Witness Rights, click here.
To obtain "A SUMMARY OF VIRGINIA'S CRIME VICTIM AND WITNESS RIGHTS ACT: Your Rights and Responsibilities" can be found here.
Street Crimes
Created in 1994, the Street Crimes Unit is responsible for conducting covert surveillance and intelligence gathering operations in a variety of environments. Their primary function is to support the investigative efforts of the General Investigations Unit in an order to bring cases to a positive and swift resolution, thereby solving crime more intelligently and effectively. Additionally, the unit is responsible for locating and apprehending some of the agencies most elusive fugitives, as well as repeat offenders. The Street Crimes Unit is comprised of a Sergeant and a group of investigators.
Vice/Narcotics
The Vice/Narcotic Unit identifies and investigates those persons who are involved with gambling or other vice offenses and those persons who are involved in narcotics activity within the county. The unit also works in conjunction with other departmental investigative units as well as units in surrounding agencies. Suspects are targeted and investigated resulting in a greatly improved arrest rate. The utilization of a computerized database tracking system and other technical equipment has proven to be invaluable investigative tools to the Vice/Narcotics investigators.
Intelligence
The Intelligence Unit is comprised of two Crime Analysts and one Data Retrieval Specialist all of which are civilian employees. All Intelligence personnel are highly trained and skilled in the use of computers for the retrieval and the analysis of crime statistics to identify crime trends and identifying possible suspects of crimes. This information is disseminated to criminal investigators, patrol officers, and other jurisdictions, which enables law enforcement personnel to focus their investigative efforts in a particular geographic area or on a particular suspect. This often speeds up the ability to make an arrest.
