|
The Crimes Property Unit is comprised of five Detectives and an Investigative Aide and is supervised by a sergeant. This unit is responsible for investigating “property” crimes, which may include: burglary, auto theft, vandalism, fraud, identity theft, and arson. One detective specializes in residential and commercial burglary, general theft, vandalism and arson. Another detective specializes in auto theft, auto burglary and auto vandalism. Two detectives are specialists in financial crimes, fraud, forgery, and identity theft. The fifth detective is assigned to the Orange County Auto Theft Taskforce (OCATT). The Investigative Aide is a non-sworn position that has become an indispensable part of the Detective Bureau. This person assists detectives in filing cases at court, acting as a liaison with the District Attorney’s office, filing pawn transactions, case preparation, audio-visual evidence replication, and interviewing sex offenders during their annual registrations. The Crimes Property Unit works closely with security at many of our large venues throughout the city, including: Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park Downtown, and members of the E-Zone entertainment corridor. The detectives of this unit regularly work with police agencies from surrounding jurisdictions to help combat crime. These detectives write and serve search warrants for stolen property and have recovered stolen articles from many jurisdictions. These detectives also track burglaries, auto theft, vandalism cases and other crime trends so that the information can be forwarded to patrol officers to help combat the problem. The Buena Park Police Department is a founding member of the Orange County Auto Theft Task Force, and has been so for over a decade. This elite unit of detectives from various agencies within Orange County is tasked with the investigation and prosecution of criminals involved in large-scale auto and motorcycle theft rings. The unit is responsible for locating and prosecuting “chop-shop” operations, sophisticated illegal “VIN” switch rings and fraudulent DMV paperwork sites. As crime trends change with the times, so does the training and education needs for all officers. Detectives are continually updated on case law precedent changes and they are provided with annual conference or seminar trainings to assist them in networking with other agencies. The growing use of the Internet has led to a significant increase in the high-tech crime, including: identity theft, check fraud and forgery, illegal access of bank accounts, and misuse of electronic transmissions. The two Economic Crimes detectives encourage everyone to keep personal information strictly confidential, and shred any and all paperwork, which contains any vital information that may be used to steal your identity. |
|