 The men and women of
the Criminal Investigation Division are charged with the
responsibility of investigating all criminal activity in the City of
Des Moines. They remain dedicated in serving the needs of our city
and actively solicit the support of our community in our quest to
keep this a great place to live. All investigations require that
sufficient evidence be gathered to identify the perpetrator through
witness interviews, interrogations and physical evidence. The
primary goal and function of this division is to ensure that all
investigations are complete and properly prepared for prosecution.
The Criminal Investigation Division is divided into the following
sections:
Crimes
Against Property Section investigates the largest volume
of cases in the Division. The nature of these cases include all
burglaries, thefts, criminal mischief, trespassing, harassment, and
hate crimes. Arson/Fire Investigators and the Pawn Shop/Gun Control
Investigators are two additional specialized units in this section.
Members of the Crimes
Against Persons Section are responsible for investigating
the most violent and very sensitive crimes. Any one of these
investigations has the potential of requiring literally hundreds and
even thousands of investigative hours. Homicides, infant deaths,
suicides, assaults, and terrorism are examples of crimes
investigated by this section. This section consistently has a
homicide solution rate which exceeds 80%. This rate is exceptional
when compared to the 55% Midwest average and 65% National average.
The Special
Assignment Section has a broad function in this division.
Forgeries, frauds, embezzlements, identity thefts, car thefts and
counterfeiting are examples of crimes investigated. In addition,
this section is responsible for the processing of fugitive warrants
and completing handwriting analysis. An Intelligence Unit and
Senior/Youth Services Officer are also assigned to this section.
 The Sex
Abuse/Child Trauma Section is responsible for
investigation all sexual assaults, child enticement and Internet
cases, pedophile, child abuse, child exploitation, and child in need
of assistance cases. An emergency response team known as the Trauma
Team investigates the most serious child abuse cases. The mission of
this team is to protect those children unable to protect themselves.
A School Resource Officer Program has been re-introduced and is part
of this section. The arrest and conviction of individuals making
bomb threats and carrying loaded weapons has once again allowed the
schools to sustain the educational process without the outside
interference caused by these disruptive personalities.
The Identification
Section is responsible for the discovery, documentation,
and analysis of crime scene evidence. Members of this section
process over 11,000 crime scenes each year. With digital technology,
one fingerprint can now be compared to a database containing over 4
million fingerprints. These comparisons provide the potential of
matching suspects to fingerprints found at a crime scene and
identifying unknown persons who are wanted. A polygraph examiner is
also assigned to this section. |
