The Investigative Division consists of four officers: three detectives and a detective sergeant. They are responsible for conducting serious and in-depth criminal investigations, background investigations for police officer candidates and applicants for firearms permits and liquor licenses, and processing evidence.
One of our detectives is always on-call and is called to the scene of serious crimes to gather physical evidence, lift fingerprints, photograph crime scenes, and interview victims, witnesses, and suspects. Detectives work with police officers in other law enforcement agencies at the local, county, state, and federal level to coordinate investigations that cross jurisdictional lines.
Detectives receive additional training in areas of narcotics interdiction, arson investigation, computer crimes, and interview and interrogation techniques.
While the public does not see the Investigative Division on a daily basis, the detectives are busy supporting the efforts of the Patrol Division. Detectives are available to provide plain-clothes, undercover, or surveillance operations for the police department when deemed necessary.
The Detective Sergeant is responsible for screening every investigation report taken by the Patrol Division for possible follow-up, supervising the ongoing investigations conducted by the detectives, processing firearms permits, administering the Megans Law Program, and reporting the police department crime statistics to the United States Department of Justice under the Uniform Crime Reporting Act.
The Investigation Division is supervised by Lt. Scott Nelson, who can be reached at 908-782-8889.
