The primary responsibility of the Criminal Investigation Division is the initiation of investigations into criminal activity, and for providing investigative support to the Uniform Patrol Division. The overriding priority for the Criminal Investigation Division is the reduction of crime and the public fear of crime.

The Criminal Investigations Division is tasked with following leads developed during the initial reporting of criminal activity to the Auburn Police Department. The Criminal Investigations Division is ready to respond anytime, day or night, to the needs of crime victims, or to the scene of any criminal activity including, but not limited to, Homicide, Burglary, Arson, Aggravated Battery, etc.
 

The members of the Criminal Investigations Division first work to follow up on reports of criminal activity initially reported to our uniformed patrol officers. The Detectives then establish that a criminal act was indeed committed, identify and apprehend the person responsible for the criminal act, and attempt to recover any property that may have been stolen. The Criminal Investigations Division is also responsible for forensic examination of crime scenes along with the evaluation, collection, and maintenance of evidence. The Criminal Investigations Division plays an integral part in assisting the State of Georgia in prosecuting the suspect charged with the offense.

The Criminal Investigations Division is manned by two Detectives, a Lieutenant and a Corporal. Detectives receive specialized education and training in Homicide Investigation, Sexual Assault Investigations, Family Violence Investigations, Child and Elder Abuse Investigations, Interview and Interrogation Techniques, Crime Scene Processing, Financial Fraud Investigation, and many other investigative disciplines.
 

The Auburn Police Department also staffs a Narcotics Investigation Unit.  This unit is responsible for all Narcotics investigation, identification and prosecution, and employs all the latest techniques in the city’s war on drugs.

The Auburn Police Departments Investigations staff works in cooperation with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. If you wish to contact the Investigations Division, please feel free to call (770) 513-8657, Ext. 217 & 218, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (except on national holidays).

The Criminal Investigations Division has the primary responsibility to investigate criminal offenses, apprehend offenders, recover stolen property, and seek prosecution.  Activities designed to fulfill this responsibility include but are not limited to:

 • Obtaining incident reports and conducting further investigations on those reports.  

• The seizure and recording of evidence at major crime scenes and the comparison of this evidence to records maintained at this or another law enforcement agency.

• Deployment into covert actions designed to apprehend offenders engaged in repeated and patterned offenses.

• Investigation into the use or sale of illegal drugs.

• Review all investigative cases to ensure its readiness for presentation to the prosecutor. 

The Criminal Investigations Division is supervised by the CID Commander.  The division is divided into three sections: 

·         Crimes against Persons

·         Property Crimes

·         Special Investigations

An important part of the Criminal Investigations Division, is responding to all major crime scenes, the Detective is responsible for making diagrams, collecting all evidence, and taking all photographs. 

The Auburn Police Department is committed to making the City of Auburn a safer place to live and work.  This is best accomplished by the citizens and the police working together.  If you have information related to any crime please call us at (770) 513-8657.

The Auburn Police department handles hundreds of calls for service each year. A portion of those calls result in a written incident report that is forwarded to the criminal investigations supervisor for review and screening. Not all cases are assigned. Time and manpower restraints necessitate a system of case management.

Each report filed with the Auburn Police Department is assigned or not assigned based on a system of solvability factors. Suspect identity, physical evidence recovered at the scene, the probability of being able to identify stolen property, and other factors determine if a case is assigned. If a case is not assigned the person filing the report will be sent a letter stating such.

Cases are designated as:

• Active (open) – Designates a case on which investigation is being pursued and the investigating officer is actively involved in efforts to clear the case by arrest of the offender.

• Unfounded (closed) – Indicates that investigation reveals substantial differences between reality and the information originally reported to the police eliminating the need for continued investigation. 

• Cleared by Arrest (closed) – Indicates that a case has been concluded satisfactorily and is ready for prosecution or other action. 

• Exceptionally Cleared (closed) – Designates a case in which all available leads and evidence have been exhausted, and the case has been brought to a standstill; investigative efforts may be resumed upon discovery of new evidence or leads.

If a case is assigned to a detective he or she will normally contact the complainant to discuss the case.  The detective will investigate the case by interviewing all witnesses, suspects or anyone else who may have knowledge of the crime, they will subpoena documents when necessary, conduct searches if appropriate, collect any evidence necessary and recover stolen property if it is located.

The Criminal Investigations Division provides physical evidence documentation used at critical incidents, crime scenes or accident scenes.  Each scene is documented through the use of photography, video, and scene drawings.  Reconstruction of crime scenes is also provided through experience and training of officers involved.  Photographs and video are completed at scenes for further investigative purposes and court presentation. 

The department employs the latest technology in digital video and digital photography in the processing of scenes.  Digital pictures are enhanced to bring fourth details and evidence that are not readily visible with standard methods. 

The Criminal Investigations Division employs the most modern techniques in the processing of latent fingerprints and of evidence collected by officers at a crime scene. 

 

Lt. Lapsky, the CID Commander,  processing finger prints at a business robbery

Varied techniques and equipment are used in this capability, including assorted types of powders, superglue fuming, and Ninhydrin.  Superglue fumes adhere to latent fingerprints making them more readily visible and fixed in position on a surface.