Specialist Investigation Department

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The Specialist Investigation Department is a branch of the Criminal Investigation Department of a British police force (although many use different names) which investigates crimes such as murder and sexual offences supplying specially trained officers to monitor known ex offenders which have a history of sex offences and also this unit could be considered the same as Area Major Incident Poolof the Metropolitan Police Service. The Specialist Investigation Officers use the prefix "Detective" in front of their actual police rank. The team also respond to major investigations such as murder when divisional teams can not cope with the sheer amount of work.

SID branches (Names differ slightly between force but objectives remain same):

  • Major Crime Team - Aid divisional CID in a major case such as murder.
  • Fraud Squad - Investigates major fraud. Best known squad could be considered that of the City of London Police as they police Londons financial district.
  • Hi-Tech Crime Unit (HTCU) - Is made up of computer experts who monitor online sexual predators and assists the other teams in specialist computer monitoring.
  • Public Protection Unit (PPU) - Is made up of specially trained Detectives who monitor known ex sexual offenders who are out of prison and released back into the public.
  • Organised Crime Unit - A team of officers who investigate bank robberies and crimes involving drugs, but only deals in Organised Crime which is made up of career criminals not petty thiefs. >
  • Vulnerability Unit - Is made up of officers who center around aftercare of the public and investigation into major crimes on children, also Domestic violence.
  • Scientific Support Unit - Forensic Scientists who support the force in gathering vital crime scene DNA linking the guilty with the crime and the place which would be often crucial in modern day court cases. The SSU is made up of many different roles such as, A Crime Scene Investigator who is responsible for gathering forensic evidence from a crime scene, Volume Crime Scene Investigator (VCSI) which gather forensic evidence off of vandalised cars and attempted house burglaries, Figerprint Officer who is responsible for matching fingerprints from crimes to known offenders, Chemical Treatment Officers who are based in the lab who process and enhance fingerprints and the Crime Scene Surveyor who record all evidence found, its whereabouts and its importance in the case.

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