Investigations

We have two detectives and a detective sergeant working cases in all parts of the county. The detectives are supervised by the detective sergeant under the direction of the Chief Criminal Deputy.

Unlike large departments, our detectives must specialize in the investigation of many types of complex crimes as opposed to limiting their investigative responsibilities to a particular type of crime.

Responsibilities

Detectives primarily investigate felony crimes, and a large part of our caseload involves child abuse investigations. Detectives sometimes investigate less serious crimes when they are part of a series, or because of their nature require a lengthy investigation.

Detectives are patrol deputies the Sheriff has laterally assigned to plainclothes duty. The Sheriff has selected them because of their experience and expertise. The purpose of plain clothes is to allow detectives to represent the Sheriff's Office in public with fewer distractions than a marked car and a uniform would create.

Training

Detectives receive specialized training in a variety of areas including; homicide investigation, child abuse investigation, financial crimes investigation, and crime scene investigation.

Sex Offenders

The Detective Sergeant manages the registered sex offenders living in Douglas County. This includes regularly assigning address verifications to patrol deputies, evaluating each registering sex offender for his/her level of risk to the community, and preparing notification bulletins for distribution.