The Detective Bureau is responsible for investigating crimes against property (fraud, burglary, vehicle theft, etc.), crimes against persons (homicides, assaults, domestic violence, gang related crimes, etc.), and crimes against the public (narcotics, prostitution, intelligence gathering, gambling, counterfeiting, etc.). Our Detective Bureau is also responsible for filing the cases with the District Attorney's office, when a case investigation discovers enough information upon which to base a prosecution. Please go to each of the respective investigative unit web pages to find out more about these different units and their responsibilities.
Detectives generally do not create the original report, but do investigate reports originated by patrol officers who have made the initial response to the scene of the crime. The detective then reviews those reports for any leads or evidence that would require follow-up investigation and additional work is done in an attempt to bring the case to some resolution.Detectives work closely with investigators from neighboring jurisdictions who may have similar crime trends or suspects.Detectives also work with crime victims to help resolve a case. If you would like to know more about your role as a crime victim, please read our flyer (in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish).
Crimes Against Property Unit
The Crimes Against Property Unit is comprised of a Sergeant and five Detectives. They are charged with the responsibility of investigating felony and misdemeanor "property" crimes occurring within the City’s jurisdiction. Property crimes include, but are not necessarily limited to, residential and commercial burglary, auto theft and thefts from autos, vandalism, shoplifting, as well as forgery, fraud, identity theft and computer crime. The investigations include identification, apprehension, interrogation, and prosecution of offenders, case clearance and the processing of stolen and recovered property. In some cases, due to lack of leads, witnesses or evidence, the investigation remains unsolved.
At this time, the Crimes Against Property unit uses the following investigative assignments:
Two detectives specialize in burglary, one working residential and the other working commercial burglaries; they also work general thefts and vandalism to anything other than a vehicle.
One detective specializes in auto theft, thefts from autos and any vandalism to autos.
Two detectives specialize in working fraud, forgery, identity theft and computer crimes. Additionally, one detective is assigned to the high-tech crimes unit (computer forensics).
Crimes Against Persons
The Crimes Against Persons unit is responsible for investigating all crimes committed within the City of Westminster where the intended victim is a person. The unit consists of three major components: Family Protection Unit; Robbery / Homicide; and the T.A.R.G.E.T Gang unit. The unit is also staffed with a police service officer, a police intern and one Sergeant. The unit is housed together in one office to facilitate the flow of information and foster teamwork. During major investigations, such as a murder or kidnapping, all components of the unit come together and function as one team bringing collective experience of all the members into the investigation. The Crimes Against Persons unit is the largest investigative unit within the department.
Family Protection
The Family Protection Unit (FPU) is charged with investigating all domestic violence, sex crimes and elder abuse. FPU was designed and implemented by Chief Hall. FPU is designed to consist of two detectives, a victim’s advocate from the Women’s Transitional Living Center, a social worker from the County of Orange, a police service officer and a Deputy District Attorney (DDA). This unit carries the largest caseload and is ever vigilant in the protection of family, especially children. FPU was recently recognized for their years of partnership and dedication to the Child Abuse Services Team.
Robbery/Homicide
The Robbery/Homicide unit consists of two detectives. This unit does not exclusively investigate robberies and homicides. Other than their regular caseload, these detectives investigate all assaults, criminal threats, and any other crimes that are not domestic or gang related. These detectives are highly skilled and must be able to adapt to a dynamic caseload. The most seasoned detectives are assigned to this unit because of the expertise needed to handle complex investigations.
TARGET
The Tri-Agency Resource Gang Enforcement Team (TARGET) is comprised of two detectives, a Deputy District Attorney (DDA), a District Attorney Investigator and a Deputy Probation Officer (DPO). The mission of the TARGET unit is to reduce gang influenced anti-social behavior by targeting the most active, hard-core gang members in Westminster. When a gang member is arrested and he/she has been identified as a target through reliable intelligence, that person is prosecuted by the DDA assigned to our unit. All targeted gang members who are on probation are supervised by the DPO assigned to the unit and their activities are closely monitored. The unit is also charged with gang suppression and they are regularly called upon to testify in other jurisdictions as gang experts. Our TARGET unit was the first of its kind in the nation and has been replicated by several agencies across the Country.
Crimes Against Public
The Crimes Against Public unit consists of two areas of investigative specialty: narcotics and vice/intelligence. This unit is unique in that much of their caseload is self-generated by the detectives in the unit. Cases can be developed based on citizen contacts, informants, outside agency information, or worked from an initial patrol contact.
Narcotics
The narcotics investigators’ main functions are to identify known drug users and sellers of narcotics, seize and destroy drugs, recover money and proceeds from these dealers, arrest the subjects involved, educate the community on the dangers of drugs, educate fellow officers on drug trends and the changes within the judicial system, and to make the neighborhood and businesses free and safe from narcotics and narcotics traffickers.
To identify the drug dealers within the community, Detectives rely on information from the public, confidential informants, fellow officers and outside agencies. Once a dealer or location has been identified, Detectives will conduct surveillances, undercover buys of narcotics, search warrants and probation/parole checks:
Surveillances can consist of several officers from different units or agencies that follow a group of individual(s) or may just involve a few officers monitoring activity to and from a certain location.
Undercover operations involve a detective or detectives posing as a potential drug buyer and purchasing narcotics from the dealer. A confidential informant usually introduces the detective to the dealer and can also be involved in purchasing narcotics from dealers.
Search warrants are the “bread and butter” of what narcotics investigators do. By using the above mentioned methods, Detectives are able to obtain enough probable cause to search houses, businesses, vehicles and persons. This will eventually lead to the recovery of narcotics, money, guns and the arrest of those involved.
Narcotics detectives also get involved in teaching classes to citizen groups, social services, probation and parole officers and high school students on the dangers of drugs and the effects drug use has on the community.
Vice/Intelligence
Vice/Intelligence investigators gather information to identify and investigate organized criminal enterprises. These investigators handle counterfeit and pirated DVDs/CDs, prostitution, human trafficking, massage parlors, as well as some computer crimes. The Vice/Intelligence investigators assist City Hall personnel with writing and/or addressing any new Conditional Use Permits (CUP), approving/denying or changing any CUP that is up for amendment. These investigators also monitor all ABC establishments within the city. In doing this, we maintain regular contact with the Alcohol Beverage Control and patrol officers, addressing problem locations in our ongoing efforts to deter potential problems.
Identity Theft
Identity Theft is a major growing crime not only in Westminster, but nationwide. Identity theft involves acquiring key pieces of someone’s identifying information, such as name, address, social security number, and date of birth. The identity thief uses that information to commit numerous forms of fraud which include, taking over a victim’s financial accounts, opening new bank accounts, applying for credit cards, and social security benefits. A person’s identifying information is obtained by stealing mail, dumpster diving, hacking through the Internet, home and automobile burglaries, purse/wallet theft, and insiders (waiters, retail stores, etc.).
Some preventive actions include:
remove mail from your mailbox right after delivery
deposit outgoing mail in post office collection mailboxes
never give personal information over the telephone
shred pre-approved credit card applications
order your credit report from the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian, once a year to check for fraudulent activity
never carry your social security card with you
beware of telephone/mail/email solicitations disguised as promotions offering instant prizes or awards designed solely to obtain your personal information or credit card numbers.
For more information from the federal government regarding Identity Theft, click here.
We have also put together an information guide about ID Theft, and how to recover from it. If you are a victim of ID Theft, or know someone who has been or is a victim, the guide (which is in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish) can help you recover and protect your identity.
The Family Protection Unit (FPU) is charged with investigating all domestic violence, sex crimes and elder abuse. FPU was designed and implemented by Chief Hall. FPU is designed to consist of two detectives, a victim’s advocate from the Women’s Transitional Living Center, a social worker from the County of Orange, a police service officer and a Deputy District Attorney (DDA). This unit carries the largest caseload and is ever vigilant in the protection of family, especially children. FPU was recently recognized for their years of partnership and dedication to the Child Abuse Services Team.
The Robbery/Homicide unit consists of two detectives. This unit does not exclusively investigate robberies and homicides. Other than their regular caseload, these detectives investigate all assaults, criminal threats, and any other crimes that are not domestic or gang related. These detectives are highly skilled and must be able to adapt to a dynamic caseload. The most seasoned detectives are assigned to this unit because of the expertise needed to handle complex investigations.
The Tri-Agency Resource Gang Enforcement Team (TARGET) is comprised of two detectives, a Deputy District Attorney (DDA), a District Attorney Investigator and a Deputy Probation Officer (DPO). The mission of the TARGET unit is to reduce gang influenced anti-social behavior by targeting the most active, hard-core gang members in Westminster. When a gang member is arrested and he/she has been identified as a target through reliable intelligence, that person is prosecuted by the DDA assigned to our unit. All targeted gang members who are on probation are supervised by the DPO assigned to the unit and their activities are closely monitored. The unit is also charged with gang suppression and they are regularly called upon to testify in other jurisdictions as gang experts. Our TARGET unit was the first of its kind in the nation and has been replicated by several agencies across the Country.
The narcotics investigators’ main functions are to identify known drug users and sellers of narcotics, seize and destroy drugs, recover money and proceeds from these dealers, arrest the subjects involved, educate the community on the dangers of drugs, educate fellow officers on drug trends and the changes within the judicial system, and to make the neighborhood and businesses free and safe from narcotics and narcotics traffickers.
Undercover operations involve a detective or detectives posing as a potential drug buyer and purchasing narcotics from the dealer. A confidential informant usually introduces the detective to the dealer and can also be involved in purchasing narcotics from dealers.
Vice/Intelligence investigators gather information to identify and investigate organized criminal enterprises. These investigators handle counterfeit and pirated DVDs/CDs, prostitution, human trafficking, massage parlors, as well as some computer crimes. The Vice/Intelligence investigators assist City Hall personnel with writing and/or addressing any new Conditional Use Permits (CUP), approving/denying or changing any CUP that is up for amendment. These investigators also monitor all ABC establishments within the city. In doing this, we maintain regular contact with the Alcohol Beverage Control and patrol officers, addressing problem locations in our ongoing efforts to deter potential problems.
