¶ Los Santos County Sheriff's Office
Criminal Investigations Division
¶ Mission Statement
The Criminal Investigations Division (CID) is committed to providing the highest quality investigative and specialized response services to the public and the criminal justice community. The Division is guided by three immutable values: honor, courage, and commitment while fostering a supportive and empowered environment for its employees.
¶ Sub-Units
¶ Documentation
¶ Procedures
The Criminal Investigations Division (CID) protects human life and property by enforcing state laws relating to forensic technology, crime intelligence, vehicle theft, and computer & financial crimes. CID deters criminal activity by: developing intelligence, using innovative, investigative, and specialized enforcement strategies to investigate crimes. CID provides vital support to Los Santos Law Enforcement and it's citizens by:
- Conducting criminal and investigations for other agencies.
- Hosting or participating in regional task forces as either consultation or as intelligence oversight.
Criminal Investigations is commonly made up of a maxiumum of:
- 6 Detectives
- 8 Investigators
- 8 Crime Scene Technicians
Crime Scene Technicians are to patrol as regular units until dispatched. They can either:
- Return to the station, retrieve any equipment/uniform, and respond to the location.
- Put said gear into their patrol car when they go on-duty, and swap uniforms within the car in a discrete manner.
Once on-scene, they work primarily with any Detectives present, then if they are alongside G.T.F., S.E.R.T., or F.W.U. (and any other joint operation). If they are alone, they will collect evidence and information and note in an evidence file as a report.
It is on the Technicians shoulders to keep notes or personal documents of the case number of all cases they work on as a form of book keeping incase they are ever called upon for legal, state, or federal matters.
¶ Crime Scene Procedures
- Ensure the case has legal validity and the case falls under your jurisdiction, if not contact the appropriate jurisdiction.
- Ensure that an investigation is even needed.
- The investigator(s) in charge shall identify specific responsibilities, share preliminary information, and develop investigative plans in accordance with departmental policy and local, State, and Federal laws.
- Converse with the first responder(s) regarding observations/activities.
- Evaluate safety issues that may affect all personnel entering the scene(s) (e.g., bloodborne pathogens , hazards).
- Evaluate search and seizure issues to determine the necessity of obtaining consent to search and/or obtaining a search warrant.
- Evaluate and establish a path of entry/exit to the scene to be utilized by authorized personnel.
- Evaluate initial scene boundaries.
- Determine the number/size of scene(s) and prioritize.
- Establish a secure area within close proximity to the scene(s) for the purpose of consultation and equipment staging.
- If multiple scenes exist, establish and maintain communication with personnel at those locations.
- Establish a secure area for temporary evidence storage in accordance with rules of evidence/chain of custody.
- Ensure continued scene integrity (e.g., document entry/exit of authorized personnel, prevent unauthorized access to the scene).
- Ensure that witnesses to the incident are identified and separated (e.g., obtain valid ID).
- The investigator(s) in charge shall conduct a walkthrough of the scene.
- The walk-through shall be conducted with individuals responsible for processing the scene.
- Avoid contaminating the scene by using the established path of entry.
- Prepare preliminary documentation of the scene as observed.
- Identify and protect fragile and/or perishable evidence (e.g., consider climatic conditions, crowds/hostile environment). Ensure that all evidence that may be compromised is immediately documented, photographed, and collected.
- Based on the type of incident and complexity of the scene, the investigator(s) in charge shall determine team composition. Trained personnel shall perform scene processing.
- Assess the need for additional personnel. Be aware of the need for additional personnel in cases of multiple scenes , multiple victims, numerous witnesses, or other circumstances.
- Assess forensic needs and call forensic specialists to the scene for expertise and/or equipment.
- Ensure that scene security and the entry/exit documentation are continued.
- Select qualified person(s) to perform specialized tasks (e.g., photography, sketch, latent prints , evidence collection ).
- Document team members and assignments.
Review assessment of the scene to determine the type of documentation needed.
Coordinate photographs, video, sketches, measurements, and notes.
¶ Photograph
- Scene utilizing overall, medium, and close-up coverage.
- Evidence to be collected with and without measurement scale and/or evidence identifiers.
- Victims, suspects, witnesses, crowd, and vehicles.
- Additional perspectives (e.g., aerial photographs, witness’ view, area under body once body is removed).
- Evidence prior to movement.
- Rooms, furniture, or other objects.
- Distance to adjacent buildings or other landmarks.
- Generate notes at the scene:
- Documenting the location of the scene, time of arrival, and time of departure.
- Describing the scene as it appears.
¶ Evidence Collection
All evidence must be documented and photographed in its original position - this will preserve validity. All collected evidence must go into evidence bags, boxes, or containers/jars.
- Firearms - are to be placed in an evidence box with the magazine removed and affixed next to the firearm in the same box.
- Bullets (Fragments) and DNA evidence - Swabs, Bullets, and Fragments, or any evidence containing DNA should be placed in a sterile jar/tube, then sealed.
- Knives/Melee Weapons - all weapons with a sharp edge must be placed into a tube with foam on both sides, regardless of DNA or not. - Melee weapons with no Sharp Edges should be placed in an evidence bag
- All others - All other types of evidence should be placed in evidence bags first assuming they fit, if not use best judgement.
All evidence should be collected, sealed, and signed by the collecting investigator. Later they will be reviewed by a supervisor investigator.
General Forensics Procedures are as follows;
- Establish chain of custody.
- The team member(s) shall ensure the:
- Security of the scene throughout processing and until the scene is released.
- Effective collection, preservation, packaging, and transport of evidence.
- Document the collection of evidence by recording its location at the scene, date of collection, and who collected it.
- Collect each item identified as evidence.
- Collect, Preserve, Inventory, Package, Transport, and Submit Evidence
- Immediately secure electronically recorded evidence (e.g., answering machine tapes, surveillance camera videotapes, computers) from the vicinity.
- Identify and secure evidence in containers (e.g., label, date, initial container) at the crime scene. Different types of evidence require different containers (e.g., porous , nonporous , crushproof).
- Package items to avoid contamination and cross-contamination.
- Document the condition of firearms/weapons prior to rendering them safe for transportation and submission.
- Avoid excessive handling of evidence after it is collected.
- Maintain evidence at the scene in a manner designed to diminish degradation or loss.
- Transport and submit evidence items for secure storage.
¶ General Investigation
- Only Medically Trained Professionals should ever touch the body - most information is given during an autopsy, however medical professionals may give preliminary views on the events/causes.
- The body of the deceased will be photographed, by investigators handled by the medical examiner, the medical examiner may conduct a search on the body as they have been trained to do so.
- After the initial photographs, the medical examiner may also move the body in accordance for evidence gathering. Bullets and weapons will remain IN the body, until autopsy.
- The body will obtain a preliminary ID (Identification)
- IF possible, fingerprints, driver’s license, wallet, etc.
- The body will be placed in a body bag and transported for autopsy.
¶ Post Autopsy
Any collected evidence (bullet fragments, stomach contents) will be sent for forensic analysis. As well as a toxicology report from the blood.
A cause of death and time of death should be generated once the toxicology report is generated.