Investigations Unit

Mission Statement

The Investigations Unit is committed to excellence during criminal investigations through innovation and efficient use of our resources. We are committed to achieving the greatest gains, preventing the greatest losses, and bringing offenders to justice by diligently seeking to discover the truth, deterred neither by fear nor prejudice.

Overview

The Investigations Unit conducts follow-up investigations on reports filed with the police department. When information exists to file charges, the assigned detective presents their case to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office or City Prosecutor, depending on the crime.

The Investigations Unit is structured with positions for an Investigations Sergeant and three general caseload detectives. The Investigations Sergeant also oversees positions including Pro-ACT Detectives, School Resource Officers, and Outreach Officers. Our detectives work scheduled rotations and can be paged out to provide to investigate serious crimes as needed.

All of our detectives attend training on death investigations, crime scene investigations, crime scene photography, burglary and robbery investigations, child abuse investigations, computer crimes, drug crimes, identity theft, and domestic violence to name a few.

How Cases are Assigned

Cases are evaluated for solvability by the Investigations Sergeant. If a case has a good chance of solvability, the case is assigned to a detective. Case solvability is determined by the existence of investigational leads. These leads must indicate the potential for successful arrest and conviction. Since police resources are limited, it is not effective or practical to devote investigational resources to cases with little chance of a successful resolution. Crimes against persons are prioritized above crimes against property. Cases with higher solvability factors generally have higher prioritization. 

Common examples of investigational leads include whether a suspect is known by a victim, the existence of fingerprints or DNA, the existence of surveillance images or video, or other substantial information which may lead to the identity of a suspect.

If sufficient investigational leads do not exist, the case will be suspended. If new information develops in the future, a case can be reopened and assigned to a detective based on the criteria above.