Investigations Division
The Investigations
Division’s responsibility lies in the realm of investigating criminal
activity within Sedgwick County. The division takes a
pro-active approach to identifying persons responsible for reported crimes,
investigation of the crimes and prosecution of perpetrators in the judicial
system. This pro-active approach encompasses self-initiated
activities that include undercover drug and vice operations, surveillance of
high crime areas and activity of career criminals. The division is tasked
with the conducting background checks for computer access, intelligence
functions, adult entertainment licensing procedures, and others. The
Investigations Division is comprised of the following sections which carry out
these assignments.
General Investigations
The majority of the division’s
staff are assigned to General Investigations. Detectives investigate person and
property crimes committed in the unincorporated areas of Sedgwick County.
Detectives receive crime reports, identify suspects, recover stolen
property, evaluate crime trends, and present cases for prosecution within the
Kansas
18th Judicial District Court and United States Federal Court systems. They
work in conjunction with different state and federal prosecutors to ensure the
most effective prosecution of criminal cases. Identification of
crime trends such as “Career Criminals” or patterns of crimes are developed and
special operations are implemented to curtail criminal activities.
Surveillance and other techniques are used to catch suspects in the act of
committing crimes.
Forensic Laboratory
This section is comprised of
three forensic investigators who document the condition of crime scenes and
victims of crimes. They are highly trained in the collection and
preservation of evidence found at crime scenes. Various methods include
fingerprint detection and collection, photography, videography and trace
evidence collection. The investigators are trained in the use of
specialized equipment such as lasers, alternate light sources, crime scene
imagers and chemical means to detect evidence.
Narcotics
This section is responsible for
the evaluation and enforcement of drug and vice violations impacting Sedgwick County. To accomplish these
tasks, investigators act on information gained through various means identifying
persons involved in the sale, distribution and manufacturing of illegal
narcotics and substances. Undercover operations are used to purchase
narcotics, informants are utilized for intelligence gathering and search
warrants are drawn to seize evidence. The section also investigates
violations of liquor laws and activities within the adult entertainment
establishments for county resolution compliance.
DEA Task Force
There are several narcotics
detectives assigned to this task force with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
This task force is comprised of local and state agencies within
Sedgwick County
and the State of Kansas
to investigate intrastate, interstate and foreign drug activity. The task
force is under operational control of the DEA and targets suspects for federal
prosecution who are involved in large-scale narcotic distribution operations and
high intensity drug trafficking organizations, which are outside of the Sedgwick County area, but impact or have ties to
our community.
Intelligence
This section’s duties cover a
wide gambit of areas of responsibility. It is the central repository of
information gained from other agencies regarding criminal activities in Sedgwick County. The detective evaluates and
disseminates information to personnel within the department and to other
agencies who would benefit from the knowledge. Constant contact is
maintained with surrounding law enforcement agencies for the exchange of
information. Information from Homeland Security regarding possible
terrorist activities, alerts and trends are funneled through the intelligence
section. The intelligence detective assists in the processing of carry
concealed and adult entertainment licensing.
Exploited and Missing Child
Unit EMCU
The
Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) is a multi-agency task force
comprised of law enforcement detectives from the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s
Office, the Wichita Police Department and social workers from the Social and
Rehabilitative Services Department of the State of
Kansas. EMCU investigates sexual abuse, physical
abuse, exploitation of children and runaway reports. They also investigate
Internet crimes against children (ICAC), which is an extremely pro-active
enforcement targeting individuals who prey on children through the Internet.
Along with these duties, the section includes a computer forensics unit which
obtains evidence from suspect computers to facilitate criminal prosecution in
not only Internet crimes against children, but also aids in the investigation of
other crimes.
FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force
The Federal Bureau of
Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force is a collective effort comprised of
State, Local and Federal Law Enforcement dedicated to investigate domestic and
international terrorist activities in the United States.
ATF Gun Task Force
The Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms
Gun Task Force is a collective effort comprised of State, Local and Federal law
enforcement dedicated to investigate criminals for gun violations, gang crime,
career criminals and repeated violators of the law.
Midwest Financial
Investigations Task Force
The Midwest Financial
Investigations Task Force is a collective effort comprised of local law
enforcement agencies and the Internal Revenue Service dedicated to investigating
individuals and organizations involved in illegal activity in the
Wichita and Sedgwick County
area.
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