Overview
The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigates and provides investigatory assistance of a diverse assortment of crimes including, but not limited to; Auto Theft, Violent Crimes/Gun Crimes, Assaults, Homicides, Vehicular Assaults, Vehicular Homicides, Officer Involved Shootings, Threats against Public Officials, Identify Theft, Sexual Assaults, Fraud, and other general criminal investigations.
The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is comprised of four sections:
- Criminal Investigation Units (CIU) and the Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT)
- Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Section
- Special Investigation Unit (SIU)
- Regional Auto Theft Units (RATU)
The SIU detectives are assigned to general investigations, identity theft investigations, and Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) investigations.
Key Measurements and Statistics
The CID auto theft task forces recovered 547 stolen vehicles and made 219 auto theft arrests, a 18% increase over 2019. Statewide, instances of stolen vehicles in Washington State increased by 13 percent.
Overall, CID opened in 1,149 criminal investigations in 2020. The breakdown of the specific types of investigations is illustrated below in Figure 1. It is important to note that 2020 saw a 92% increase in the number of Non-traffic, criminal crimes, of which, 48 (12%) of the cases involved shooting/firearm violations.
CID detectives investigated or assisted in 230 felony fatality and serious injury collisions statewide, a decrease of 29% from the previous year. The UAV technology continues to provide efficiencies in both road closure times and the deployment of WSP investigative resources.
CID detectives are important members of 13 multi-agency investigative teams statewide. These multi-agency investigative teams investigated suspicious death investigations, homicides, officer-involved uses of lethal force, and other complex crimes.
CID’s 17 VIN Officers completed 28,629 VIN inspections statewide, a decrease of 17% from the previous year. COVID-19 created significant challenges to our VIN program, which was closed to the public for more than three months of the pandemic onset. The effects of the closure continue to present challenges in the timeliness of scheduling VIN inspections and working through the backlog of customers needing inspections to be completed.
Successes of 2020
he CID detectives received training and deployed the latest 3D Forensic Scanner units purchased and received during the calendar year. The new 3D scanners replaced a portion of the ageing fleet of scanners; providing increased performance, time savings, and higher-quality finished products. This deployment represents the WSP’s commitment to continuous improvement and efforts to utilize the most advanced technologies within the investigative arena.