Criminal Investigations Unit
The Investigations Bureau, which is managed by Lt. Pat Claus, is divided into three units: the Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU), the Intelligence Unit and the Narcotics Unit.
The Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) is staffed by one sergeant, three detectives and eight investigators. The detective position is considered a career position and is a competitive promotion position. Each CIU detective is assigned to oversee one of the three crime teams which make up the CIU. The detectives are responsible for reviewing, assigning and managing the cases assigned to their teams.
One detective heads the Crimes Against Persons, or CAPERS, team and works closely with the four investigators assigned to this team. The CAPERS team investigates homicides, rapes, assaults, robberies and other violence-based offenses. Two of the CAPERS investigators make up a Crimes Against Children (CAC) group and focus their attention on the investigations of alleged child abuse, child pornography and Internet child-luring cases. The CAPERS team works closely with other agencies like Cass County Social Services and the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center to assist victims of violent crimes. The CAPERS team responds both proactively and reactively to crime by combining crime scene techincal skills and computer forensics with old-fashioned police work, including neighborhood canvassing and interviewing, to solve crimes in our community.
One detective leads the Property Crimes Team, which focuses on crimes such as burglary, theft and vandalism. Three investigators work with the detective on this team and utilize a variety of both high- tech and traditional methods to investigate property-based crime. The Property Crimes Team has a good working relationship with local pawn stores and utilizes the department’s Law Enforcement Automated Database Search (LEADS) program to track property purchased by local pawn stores. In addition, members of the Property Crimes Team also utilize forensic trace evidence like DNA and fingerprints when investigating property crimes such as burglary. The Property Crime Teams can often be found canvassing neighborhoods, collecting video evidence and executing search warrants.
The remaining team is the Financial Crimes Team, and it is made up of one detective and one investigator. This team investigates complaints of forged checks, embezzlement, counterfeiting, fraud and computer fraud crimes. Computer-related crime is perhaps the most difficult task these investigators face. Fraudulent activities on sites like Ebay and those perpetrators utilizing email scams present daunting challenges for this team. The Internet has become an easy and sometimes anonymous way to become involved in illegal activities. The Financial Crimes Team has built an exceptional working relationship with area banks and retailers in combating credit card and identity theft (for tips to protect yourself from crime, review our identity theft information).
The Intelligence Unit (Intel Unit) was newly formed in late 2006, combining computerized crime analysis with community based information obtained from citizens and officers on the street. The Intel Unit is staffed by two detectives who collect, analyze and disseminate information relating to crime trends and patterns. This unit uses “intelligence-driven policing” to reduce crime by directing police and community resources as early as possible to problem areas or topics. The Intel Unit works closely with the other two Investigations units as well as the Field Services Division to address crime in our community; it is also instrumental in the department’s COMPSTAT program. In addition, the Intel Unit leads the department’s Sex Offender Registration Compliance Oversight Program (SORCOP) in registering, monitoring and (in some cases) investigating offenders required to register under state and federal law. SORCOP has made the Fargo Police Department the most progressive law enforcement agency in the region in managing registered offenders to ensure compliance with the law.