Читать книгу Police in America - Steven G. Brandl - Страница 107

Common among police departments is a criminal investigation unit, comprised of detectives and sometimes other police officers. Typically, about 15% of officers in a department are assigned to an investigations unit.²² Generally speaking and as illustrated in the organizational charts presented above, the larger the department, the more specialization there is among investigators in the types of crimes investigated. Patrol officers are traditionally responsible for responding to crime scenes and conducting preliminary (or initial) investigations, including collecting evidence and interviewing victims and witnesses. Then, if warranted, detectives conduct follow-up investigations. It is becoming more common in police departments today for patrol officers to be assigned greater responsibility for conducting follow-up investigations. As noted earlier, in the small department of River Hills, patrol officers have responsibility for all investigative activities. This is feasible because of the very small number of crimes in River Hills. Specialization is necessary in an agency such as the Houston Police Department that investigated nearly 10,000 robberies and 17,000 burglaries in 2017. Chapter 7 provides additional details about criminal investigations.

A department may have several other investigations-related units. For example, investigators and officers assigned to sensitive crimes units or special victims investigation units typically investigate sex-related crimes. Another type of investigations unit found in some departments focuses on gang-related criminal investigations. Narcotics and vice units are most often found in very large police departments. These investigators are responsible for using nontraditional investigative methods, such as sting operations, to combat drug sales, prostitution, illegal gambling, and other so-called victimless crimes.

Photo 3.4 Patrol officers typically conduct initial investigations of crimes and detectives conduct follow-up investigations. However, it is becoming more common for patrol officers to have increased investigative responsibilities.

Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP