G.O. 6.01 - Criminal Investigation

Purpose

• Establishes a written directive governing the Norwich Police Department (NPD) criminal-investigation function.
• Ensures investigations are efficient, effective, thorough, and guided by clear administrative protocols.

Policy Overview

• NPD shall:
  • Fix specific accountability for preliminary & follow-up investigations.
  • Employ a case-screening system to decide which incidents merit follow-up.
  • Maintain a case-management system within IMC/RMS.
  • Systematically identify habitual and/or serious offenders (per C.G.S. §$53a\text{-}40$).
• Violations of the order yield only departmental administrative sanctions; criminal/civil liability remains governed by law.

Detective Division (General)

• Patrol officers are the primary first-responders to all crimes/incidents.
• Preliminary investigation begins on arrival of the first unit.
• Detective Division handles matters of increased complexity/duration requiring specialized skills.
• Command Structure:
  • Detective Division Commander (appointed by Chief) oversees daily ops.
  • Sub-units:
  • Criminal Investigations.
  • Narcotics Investigations.
  • Criminal/Youth Investigations.
• Temporary assignments: Patrol officers with special skills/info may be detailed to the Division; Patrol & Detective Commanders submit eligibility lists to Chief.

When to Notify a Detective

• Patrol Supervisor must call the on-call Detective Supervisor upon verification of:
  • Deaths other than obvious natural causes (incl. homicide, suicide, industrial, fatal traffic, suspicious overdoses, untimely death <65 w/ no clear medical cause, etc.).
  • Sexual assaults involving force within $72$ hr or any sexual assault needing scene processing.
  • Armed/aggravated robbery.
  • Serious-injury assaults.
  • Kidnapping/abduction.
  • Bombings, extortion.
  • Child abuse with serious injury or need for immediate, in-depth child interview.
  • Any injury likely to result in death under unusual/suspicious conditions (e.g., industrial accidents of questionable cause).
  • Significant burglaries/home invasions or serial-crime M.O. (significant = loss/damage >\$5{,}000).
  • Police uses of force causing death or risk thereof.
  • Any other incident deemed necessary by the Supervisor.
• On Detective arrival, Patrol Supervisor must:
  • Relinquish scene responsibility upon request.
  • Brief detective(s) on all actions/info.
  • Ensure patrol reports are complete.

Command-Level Notifications to the Chief of Police

• Shift Commander notifies Chief for:
  • Homicide & attempted homicide.
  • Police-related shootings.
  • Abduction/kidnapping; home invasions; SWAT call-outs.
  • Officer injuries requiring hospitalization.
  • Fatal car crashes; mass-mutual-aid events (e.g., casino brawls).
  • Critical incidents as determined by any Supervisor.
  • Missing endangered persons; drownings; train derailments; mass-casualty or industrial disasters; large structure fires; major HQ equipment failures.
  • Off-duty misconduct possibly leading to arrest.

On-Call & Availability System

• Detectives not staffed $24$/$7$, but:
  • Issued cell phones for rapid callback; must carry during off-time or advise if unavailable.
  • Communications Center maintains home & cell numbers.
  • If no Detective available, Commander may seek aid from another agency.
• Callback protocol:
  • Officer consults Supervisor ➜ Shift Commander ➜ (if off-duty) Detective Commander/designee decides if response warranted.
  • Detective selection factors: seriousness, required specialization, solvability indicators, patrol resources, scene needs, geography, duty hours, caseload, interview volume, extensive canvass/composite needs, serial-crime leads, arrests in progress, etc.
• Specialized crime-scene services available:
  • Latent prints & touch DNA recovery.
  • Photography & scene sketching.
  • Evidence collection/preservation.
  • Crash investigation.
• All evidence transfers require documented chain-of-custody reports.

Case Screening System

Screening Roles

• Shift Commander (or designee): reviews every preliminary report, decides to:
  • Forward to Detective Division.
  • Retain with Patrol for follow-up.
  • Suspend with no further action.
• Patrol officers must not promise Detective assignment unless confirmed.

Solvability-Factor Model

• Each report is scored; if total $<7$ → usually suspend (unless exceptional).
• Weighted factors:
  • Suspect arrested – $10$
  • Suspect known/named – $10$
  • Suspect locatable – $7$
  • Usable touch DNA/fingerprints – $7$
  • Suspect described – $6$
  • Reliable witness(es) – $5$
  • Vehicle registration known – $5$
  • Vehicle described – $3$
  • Evidence recovered – $1$
  • Traceable property – $1$
  • Time-range of occurrence:
  • <1 hr – $5$
  • $1\text{–}12$ hr – $2$
  • $12\text{–}24$ hr – $1$
  • >24 hr – $0$

Assignment Logic

• Patrol retains most investigations; Detective becomes principal on assigned cases.
• Considerations: seriousness, solvability score, workload, specialized skills.
• Disputes: Detective Commander ↔ Shift Commander ➜ escalated to Captain & Deputy Chief.
• Exceptional follow-up allowed despite low score for:
  • Community importance (hate crimes, cemetery desecration).
  • Serial/crime-linkage (series burglaries).
  • Management exception (high-media or high-risk cases).
  • Investigative exception (MO intuition, intel links).

Case Status Definitions

• Open: active, assigned.
• Suspended: all leads exhausted; supervisor approval required.
• Closed: satisfactorily concluded.

Suspending vs. Closing

• Closed when: arrest made; warrant obtained; offense disproved or in another jurisdiction; victim/prosecutor decline; extradition denied.
• Suspended when: awaiting forensics/judicial matters; workload triage; property recovered; no leads or leads exhausted. May reopen on new info.

Case-File Management (IMC/RMS)

• Detective Commander ensures each entry logs:
  • Complaint #, case type, assigned investigator, date, solvability & exceptional factors, original officer.
• Review cadence:
  • Every workday: files $\ge10$ days old checked for follow-up reports.
  • Goals: victim contacted within $10$ days, updates every $10$ days, closure target $30$ days (subject to complexity), reassess solvability changes.
• Detective submits final supplement upon closure; Records Division retains originals.
• Working copies kept by detective for reference/re-opening.

Contents of a Major Case File

• Original & supplemental reports, written statements, custody forms, lab & autopsy reports, photographs, warrants/returns, impound sheets, miscellaneous supporting docs.
• No originals kept in working file; originals go to Records Room.

Access Control

• Need-to-know basis: Chief, Deputy Chief, Captain/Patrol Commander, Detective Commander, assigned personnel, authorized external agencies.
• All others require express permission.

Purging / Archiving

• Upon final disposition:
  • Arrest made ➜ move file to Records; if other suspects remain, detective keeps copy.
  • Warrant only ➜ copy of signed affidavit to Warrant File.
  • Suspended ➜ keep working copy $\ge3$ months in Detective Folder then archive at Commander’s discretion.

Accountability for Investigations

Preliminary Investigation Responsibility

• Normally the initially dispatched patrol officer until:
  • Case solved; all leads exhausted; supervisor reassigns; or forwarded to Detectives.
• Assistance from others does not remove original officer’s accountability.

Follow-Up Assignment Determinants

• Crime seriousness; skill sets; effort scope (travel, canvasses, witness volume); workload; solvability.
• End-of-shift decisions: Shift Commander decides postpone vs. hand-off.
• Each contributing officer files supplemental reports in IMC/RMS (supervisor approved).
• Patrol Shift Commanders review Detective-returned cases for continued follow-up & reporting.

Standard Cases Forwarded to Detectives

• All felonies impractical for Patrol.
• Misdemeanors requiring out-of-town work or protracted resources.

Shift Commander Core Duties

• Verify completeness of prelim investigation & rapid scene security.
• Approve/return initial & supplemental reports.
• Decide Patrol vs. Detective follow-up; solicit Detectives or other specialized units (Dive-Rescue, Collision Reconstruction, K-9) as needed.

Victim Status Notifications (When Feasible)

• Change of investigator or agency.
• Suspect arrest/referral.
• Suspension of investigation.

Habitual & Serious Offender Program

• Definitions tied to C.G.S. §$53a\text{-}40$ (persistent offender statutes).
• Investigators must:
  • Identify, verify, document qualifying offenders.
  • Notify prosecuting attorneys whenever such cases approach court disposition.

Practical & Ethical Implications

• Implements equitable allocation of investigative resources via solvability scoring, balancing due-process rights with community expectations.
• Protects evidence integrity (chain-of-custody, secure case-file access).
• Emphasizes victim communication and transparency.
• Aligns with POSTC accreditation standards $1.2.1$, $1.2.6$, $1.7.6$, $3.2.1$, $3.4.3$ ensuring statewide professional consistency.

Real-World Relevance / Integration

• Mirrors best practices in modern law-enforcement: on-call detective models, evidence-based solvability triage, IMC/RMS electronic case-management.
• Establishes proactive collaboration with prosecutors for habitual-offender enhancements, bolstering community safety.
• Provides scalable framework adaptable to mutual-aid, regional task-forces, and multi-agency critical incidents.