Criminal Investigations Division

The Criminal Investigations Division provides the primary investigative service and support for Walterboro Public Safety (Police Department). The unit is made up of two detectives and the Criminal Investigations Commander.  They handle the case from start to finish, meaning, they respond to the crime scene, process the crime scene for evidence, conduct interviews, process the evidence or send evidence to the forensic lab, evaluate the results, prepare the warrants, arrest appropriate suspects, and testify at the trial.

                                     

Cases assigned to investigations are normally, but not limited to, felonies such as homicides, sexual assaults, armed robberies, home invasions, and property crimes (burglaries, fraud, etc).  The detective may be called to a crime scene 15 minutes before Thanksgiving dinner or just as the kids start to open their Christmas presents.  It isn't unusual for the call to come after the detective is asleep in bed or even after having worked a 8 to 12-hour day.  But just because the detective hasn't slept in 24 hours is no reason for missing an item of evidence or for not working a crime scene properly.  So it may be "just a burglary"?  But that burglary is just as important to the investigating agency as is any other case.  The victim deserves the best investigative efforts possible, regardless of the type of crime under investigation. The detective dresses like the professional that he (or she) is: he could be mistaken for a salesperson or for an executive on his way to the office.  But this professional may be casting a tire track found in eight inches of mud or working in 95-degree temperature on a body found in the woods.  He may have to crawl under a house to search for a spent cartridge.

Attention is given to the arresting officer or department when an arrest is made (not the detective).  When the case comes to trial, the attention often is focused on the victim or suspect.   The detective gives his testimony at the trial, about the fingerprint he lifted, the foot print he cast, or the cartridge case he located that placed the suspect, beyond any doubt, at the scene of the crime which leads to the conviction.  Attention to detail from the detective directly leads to a successful conclusion of the case.