Investigative Service Division
CAPT. KEN GILLESPIE, DIVISION COMMANDER
The Investigatvie Service Division initiates investigations and handles all the follow-up and casework for incidents that require a response by patrol officers. The Division also responds to citizen and council complaints on criminal activity. The Division is staffed with detectives, property and evidence technicians, a major crime task force, and specialty trained civilian personnel.
Burglary Unit
This unit is comprised of two investigators that investigate all residential and commercial burglaries. They attend community meetings to educate the public in crime prevention. This unit is responsible for the implementation of the first Burglary Investigator's Association in the San Gabriel Valley. The Association exchanges information on crime patterns to identify suspects involved in burglaries. This is a multi-agency team effort. The unit also works closely with the local pawnshops to identify suspects who attempt to sell stolen property.
Domestic Violence
Patrol officers are required to document incidences that the actions by the parties involved constitute some type of domestic violence. Two detectives are assigned to investigate these complaints. Each detective receives 50-60 cases each month for follow-up investigation.
A victim in a domestic violence case must remember one very important thing; if there' s been a crime committed, the District Attorney will prosecute even if the victim doesn't seek prosecution.
Robbery Unit
The Robbery Unit is comprised of two investigators who have the responsibility of investigating all robberies in the City of Pomona. In addition, both investigators attend multi-agency meetings to exchange information on crime patterns, suspect information, and discuss new technology in the field of robbery investigations. This unit received $15,000 in state grant funding for new video equipment to assist with investigations. The Robbery Unit recently hosted a Robbery Prevention Seminar that was attended by Pomona business owners and managers.
Sexual Assault Detail
Two detectives are assigned to handle all sexual assaults and child abuse. A state requirement for any officer working this assignment is to complete a 40-hour training class. Each detective is assigned approximately 20 cases a month. The cases include sexual battery, physical abuse to minors, serial rapist, pornography or Internet child pornography. Because of changes in sentencing in recent years, most sexual assaults and felonies carry a minimum of a six-year prison sentence. In a recent case, a felony suspect was sentenced to over 900 years, the second longest sentence in Los Angeles County.
An additional assignment to this detail is the registration of convicted sexual assault individuals in compliance with Megan's Law. Once an individual is released from prison, he/she has a lifetime requirement to register each year with law enforcement on his/her birthday, or whenever he/she moves. Currently, Pomona has about 275 registrants, a number consistent with cities of our size.
Grand Theft Auto Detail
The Auto Theft Detail processes auto theft in-custody's (prepares cases for presentation to the district attorney's office), and conducts follow-ups on cases with workable leads. These leads may result in the investigator preparing a search warrant, arresting a suspect, recovering a stolen vehicle, and identifying a car theft ring. Investigators also conduct vehicle inspections where the public vehicle identification numbers have been removed. They also review all stolen and recovered vehicle reports for the City and conduct business inspections looking for stolen vehicles and for compliance with state and federal laws.
Homicide Detail
The Unit has the sole responsibility of investigating the untimely death of persons who are victims of homicide. These detectives work diligently on a murder case to help identify and capture the perpetrator.
Pomona homicide detectives investigate an average of 30 homicides a year. These murders include drive-by shootings, stabbings, strangulation's, and child deaths. The unit also investigates attempted murder cases, attend autopsies, and review unsolved murder cases. A homicide detective must be methodical and persistent in his approach to a death investigation. The detective has the overall responsibility of preparing a case for a criminal filing and will assist the Deputy District Attorney through the trial process.
The homicide unit is comprised of one sergeant and six detectives. Evidence technicians gather and document evidence to support the unit. On a murder investigation call-out, a team consisting of one sergeant, two detectives, and one technician respond to the crime scene to initiate an investigation. Since death usually strikes without warning, the homicide unit is subject to being on-call 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.
It has been said, "That no greater duty will ever be bestowed upon an officer then when he is entrusted to investigate the death of another human being."
Major Narcotics Unit
The Major Narcotics Unit investigates major narcotics trafficking in and around the City of Pomona. The unit places emphasis on invetigations which directly involve the flow of large amounts of narcotics into our community.
The unit consits of one sergeant, two investigators and four patrol officers who conduct covert surveillance of narcotic traffickers and gather intelligence which is used by the law enforcement community. The unit routinely works with and assists other law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the California Department of Justice.
Since the units inception several years ago, it has been responsible for the confiscation of hundreds of pounds of illegal narcotics and millions of dollars in U. S. currency related to the illegal trafficking of narcotics.
