Criminal Investigations Division

Contact: Lt. David Watkins 325-676-6611

The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) includes several functions in addition to the traditional detective squads. The Crime Stoppers program for Abilene and Taylor County is attached to CID. The Abilene Taylor County Child Advocacy Center is also attached to CID. Crime Analysis and the Identification Unit operate under the CID umbrella. The more traditional investigation roles are divided into three units: Crime Against Persons, Crime Against Property, and Fraud. The thirty-three employees of CID include one Lieutenant, four Sergeants, nineteen Detectives, one Crime Stoppers Coordinator, two Crime Analysts, two Forensic Specialists, one Child Advocacy Center Director and three Administrative Clerks.

The Persons Unit investigates offenses such as homicide, sexual assault, robbery, assault, harassment, etc. in which a person is injured, endangered, or threatened. Homicides and robberies are the more publicized of these crimes. Fortunately, they do not comprise the majority of the work load. Many of these crimes are fights and family violence that require a great deal of arbitration and interviewing to resolve. They also include physical and sexual abuse of children, and two of the unit's eight detectives are assigned to the Child Advocacy Center. They work exclusively on child abuse cases.

The Property Unit investigates crimes such as burglaries, car burglaries, theft, criminal mischief, etc.. The seven detectives in this unit constantly try to identify crime trends and intervene in addition to solving numerous individual offenses. One of the Property detectives is assigned to inspect Pawn Shops and maintain up-to-date files on pawned items. This program alone recovers $80,000 to $100,000 of stolen property each year. Even when criminal prosecution is not possible, the unit strives to help victims recover their loss.

The Fraud Unit investigates forgeries, credit card abuse, scams and other related offenses. The three Fraud detectives do not investigate hot checks. The District Attorney's Office handles all hot checks. Check forgeries and abuse of credit/debit cards involve lengthy paper trails for detectives to pursue. They also rely on fingerprints, handwriting analysis, and seasoned interviewing skills. Fraud detectives are also active in education and information sharing among local businesses to help minimize loss to fraud.

The Crime Stoppers Program is designed to obtain information from those sources that have knowledge about Felony crimes, but are reluctant, for whatever reason, to come forward. Crime Stoppers offers these individuals anonymity and a financial reward for the information they provide. The main purpose of the Crime Stoppers program is to obtain information on felony cases through sources not available to case investigators.

Abilene Crime Stoppers, Inc. will continue to solve felony crimes and increase the amount of stolen property recovered and the amount of narcotics confiscated through public awareness advertising. Crime Stoppers, will solve juvenile crimes in our public school system through Campus Crime Stoppers Programs. For more information on the Crime Stoppers program you can visit the Crime Stoppers Web Site at http://www.abilenepolice.com/stop.htm

CID is assigned over thirty-six hundred cases for follow-up investigation annually. That is only a small portion of offenses reported. In some cases, the responding patrol officer completed the investigation and did not require a detective. The department also employs a system to prioritize criminal investigations. It is accomplished by applying solvability factors to each case report. All major cases such as murder, sexual assault, robbery or property loss over $10,000 are automatically assigned. Other factors considered in the prioritization process include the known identity of the offender, the presence of witnesses, the presence of physical evidence, and the possibility of tracing property. In other words, the major cases and those most likely to be solved are assigned first. While this system is not perfect, it helps focus efforts on the most serious crime problems of the community. Patrol officers and detectives are encouraged to be candid about the solvability of each case in order to provide a realistic expectation of services.

The general working hours of CID and the Advocacy Center are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. However, all detectives have the opportunity to change their schedules for reasonable needs of victims and witnesses. Also, all detectives respond to emergency calls relating to their assignment. The phone number for Criminal Investigations is 325-676-6610. The Child Advocacy Center phone number is 325-738-8060. These numbers are only answered during the day. For emergency police services call 911. For the initial reporting of non-emergency crimes call 325-676-8331. The mailing address for the Abilene Police Department is P.O. Box 174, Abilene, Texas, 79604-0174.