Operations

The Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) of the Auburndale Police Department has skilled, trained detectives who can be called upon at any time to assist Patrol or to assume the investigation of a criminal episode. CIU provides follow-up investigations on all criminal incidents with potential for solvability, which have not already been resolved by an officer assigned to the Law Enforcement Division. Detectives are assigned to investigate crimes relating to general and special investigations.

General investigations include reports of crimes, apprehending suspects and taking an active role in tracking repeat offenders. Detectives are assigned to investigate property crimes, like burglaries and auto thefts, and violent crimes, such as robberies, aggravated assaults, and homicides. They are responsible for investigating crimes, collecting evidence, apprehending suspects and preparing the case for prosecution. CIU also gathers intelligence information, interviews victims, witnesses, and suspects, and processes crime scenes.

Special investigations include complaints of controlled substance violations, prostitution and other related crimes. A variety of tactics are used to combat these problems within the community, like undercover operations and the use of informants. It is essential or our success that an effective partnership is maintained with the State Attorney’s Office, colleagues within and outside the police department, and just as importantly, concerned members of the community.

Officers assigned as a K-9 handler are selected through a competitive process from the squads and units within the police department. Those selected for assignment to a K-9 team have to be highly motivated, and need to have a love for dogs. Since the dog will live at home with the handler and be his/her responsibility, the handler has to have an ability to create a strong relationship with his K-9 partner.

After selection, the handler and his K-9 partner attend a significant amount of training specific to their assignment. This involves a scent discrimination course that teaches the dog to sniff a garment or other item and then use that odor to track down the person who last wore or handled it.

The K-9 team is required to complete a basic patrol canine course as well that teaches them obedience, how to track missing people or criminal suspects, how to conduct an area search to find an article, how to go over, around, or through an obstacle like a fence or a wall, how to determine where a suspect might be hiding, and how to apprehend a suspect, among other things.

Lastly, the K-9 team completes a course in either narcotics detection or explosives detection, which teaches the dog how to search for and safely find narcotics or explosives.

Traffic Homicide Investigators (THIs) are specially trained patrol officers who are given additional responsibilities. After appointment as a THI, the officer is called on to investigate motor vehicle crashes that involve serious bodily injuries or fatalities. The special training they receive includes an 80-hour basic traffic homicide investigations course, and an advanced 80-hour THI course. They may also attend specific training regarding the investigation of pedestrian crashes, motorcycle crashes, and commercial vehicle crashes, as well as a more advanced traffic crash reconstruction course.

The additional training involved in this assignment is required because the investigation of serious traffic crashes is very technical in nature. The laws of physics and motion are complicated and the THI is expected to call on special knowledge in order to understand and reconstruct a crash and the moments leading up to that crash. The THIs also use laser mapping equipment to map crash scenes and to reconstruct vehicle damage in some circumstances.

The Auburndale Police Department utilizes a centralized records management section whose responsibilities are to maintain electronic copies of all reports and to enter computer data into the Police Department’s records management computer system. These different forms of documentation are used when needed by the court system or the Police Department or when dealing with public requests.

The Police Department forwards the computer-generated data taken from all offense reports to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for the state’s Uniform Crime Reporting system.